What Happened to Prince of Persia?

What Happened to Prince of Persia?

At one point one of the most influential action adventure franchises around, “Prince of Persia” came back with a vengeance in 2024’s “The Lost Crown.” The switch to Metroidvania over a grander 3D title has been praised by many while breathing new life into the dormant series. However, it’s the first mainline entry in fourteen years. So, what went wrong? Why did Ubisoft let one of its most esteemed IPs of the 2000s fall into obscurity? Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’re taking you through the history of “Prince of Persia,” and why it needed to die before it could be reborn.

Of course, the series didn’t begin with Ubisoft. Creator Jordan Mechner first found success with the martial arts fighter, 1984’s “Karateka,” which he developed while attending Yale of all places, so major props to him. Publisher Broderbund was so pleased, it enlisted Mechner to create a new game. And what he came up with during his final year at school was “Prince of Persia.”

He drew from many outside sources as inspiration, including the classic “Arabian Nights” stories and adventure films like “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” It followed the nameless Prince attempting to rescue his beloved from an evil wizard, who had taken control while Persia’s sultan was away fighting a war. There were many elements that made it unique in comparison to other platformers at the time. Just like in “Karateka,” Mechner implemented rotoscope animation, a process that involves tracing over live-action images to create more fluid movement. He rotoscoped images of his younger brother for platforming, though the sword combat provided a greater challenge. Mechner looked to 1938’s “The Adventures of Robin Hood,” particularly the final fight between the hero and villain, to get it just right.

Although not an immediate success, “Prince of Persia” grew in acclaim and sales as it was ported to other platforms. Thanks to its cinematic style, it’s now considered one of the more unique games of its era. After taking some time off, Mechner and Broderbund returned with 1993’s “Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame.” It was as good a sequel as you could get, with more focus on combat, grander level design, and even better visuals. It seemed the series could do no wrong. But like many other video game IPs in the 90s, it encountered its biggest hurdle during a time of transition for the industry: 3D.

Through various legal dealings and rights swapping, the “Prince of Persia” license ended up with publisher Red Orb Entertainment in the late 90s. While Mechner was brought in as a creative consultant and to help write a new game’s scenario, he has said he felt disconnected from the development on “Prince of Persia 3D.” The more time passed, the more unhappy he felt, considering it a “Tomb Raider” knock-off, which had recently blown up in popularity. When it was released in 1999, the public wasn’t that impressed either. Poor controls and a frustrating camera made it a far cry from what came before it. And the series may have ended there if not for Ubisoft.

The third game had clearly left Mechner feeling disappointed, but it isn’t every day a publisher of Ubisoft’s size comes knocking on your door. Ubisoft had purchased the series rights in 2001 and sought Mechner out for a possible revival. Initially brought in as a consultant, things went so well that he ended up signing on as designer and writer. Just like the 1989 game, “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time” had many outside influences. Its design was inspired by 2001’s “Ico,” while the Prince’s many acrobatic movements drew inspiration from movies like “The Matrix” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” It follows our hero, nameless once again, after being tricked into unleashing the titular sands, which turn untold numbers of citizens into monsters, before he can fix his mistake. In terms of mechanics, the rewind ability was the central star. Being able to reverse a careless death, or avoid a detrimental attack, is something players never grew tired of. The visuals, the level design, the gameplay, even a performance from a young Yuri Lowenthal; everything combined to make an excellent adventure.

“The Sands of Time” saw the series grow bigger than it ever had before. Rave critical reviews, huge sales numbers, and a legion of happy fans naturally meant sequels would be on the way. With the gaming world growing darker and edgier, 2004’s “Warrior Within” followed suit. It brought the series up to an M rating, with an increase in violence and a darker story. It concerned the Dahaka, a godlike timeline guardian angry with the Prince for his various time shenanigans from the first game. Although not quite as strongly received as “Sands,” though nothing in the series would be, it was still a solid entry that got players excited for the trilogy’s end. Mechner actually had no input on this game, as he had his hands full working on Disney’s future live-action adaptation. However, he wasn’t a fan of the Mature rating, also going as far to say that the story and visual style weren’t his taste either. Well, can’t win ‘em all.

2005 gave players a double dose of the Prince. “Battles of Prince of Persia” was a forgettable tactics spin-off for the DS, which filled in some time between “Sands” and “Warrior.” “The Two Thrones,” on the other hand, closed out the main trilogy. By playing around in time, the finale saw the Prince contend with a reborn villain, as well as an evil version of himself fighting to control him. It expanded on gameplay and level elements from the first two without being too different, closing out the trilogy strongly. Sadly, it would seem Ubisoft wasn’t quite sure what to do with the IP in the coming years.

Instead of following in its own successful footsteps, Ubisoft chose to reboot the series with 2008’s self-titled installment. The game utilized a cel-shaded art style, which, sadly, many players of the time were against. It also focused more on puzzles and parkour, as well as exploration with its less linear world design. Less emphasis was placed on combat, with most fights being one-on-one rather than having groups of minor enemies. It was markedly easier than the other games, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Still, with cinematic action-adventure games quickly becoming the hot trend, the Prince didn’t grab as much attention this time around, despite some fairly strong sales. Also quite unfortunate was the fact that Nintendo fans got the short end of the stick, with “The Fallen King” on the DS, a consolation prize released on the same day with cumbersome controls, and the only other game to be set in the same continuity.

2010 saw the series fail to entice modern audiences on several fronts. Mechner had been working with Disney to develop the story of a live-action film since 2004, which had more than its fair share of obstacles to overcome, including a Writer’s Strike from 2007-2008. When “The Sands of Time” finally did release in May of 2010, there were multiple elements that led to its failure. One was that it didn’t release during the franchise’s peak, in the early Ubisoft years. Another was that it was very clearly Disney’s attempt at a second “Pirates of the Caribbean,” with much of the swashbuckling but not nearly the same level of charm. Oh, and lead actors Jake Gyllenhaal and Gemma Arteron are clearly not Persian, only given a tan and some eyeliner to pass them off as such.

On the gaming side, Ubisoft had been working on a tie-in game for the movie at the same time as their reboot. When the movie suffered delays, the studio instead chose to revisit the “Sands” continuity with “The Forgotten Sands,” set between the first and second entries. How good the game was depended entirely on where you played it; what you’d call the “main” game launched on PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. But the DS, PSP, Wii, and even mobile devices got vastly different experiences, and naturally ones that weren’t nearly as good. Even still, the best version of “The Forgotten Sands” failed to stand out in an increasingly crowded market. With reviews and sales a bit too weak, it would seem a disappointing end to the series for quite some time.

The 2010s were a dark time for “Prince of Persia” fans. When it comes to huge action-adventure franchises, Ubisoft found itself more than covered with the advent of “Assassin’s Creed.” With similar gameplay, and the diminishing sales and popularity of “Prince of Persia,” it’s completely understandable what a business would choose to focus on. We got two endless runner spin-offs for mobile, which were fine but not what any player truly wanted. In 2020, a trailer resurfaced of a canceled “Prince of Persia: Redemption,” which was in development for the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC. It looked surprisingly great and got a lot of people wishing the series would return. But that very same year, Ubisoft unveiled a trailer for a “Sands of Time” remake, which received immediate backlash for its questionable visuals. This caused the studio to eventually delay it from its January 2021 release date and change development teams. As of writing, we haven’t seen any additional footage since, though Ubisoft issued a small update in November of 2023, saying that development was progressing well.

So, a couple of uninspired mobile releases, a canceled mainline game, and a botched announcement for a remake of a beloved classic. All of this after the series had already begun to decline in popularity. ‘What happened’ to “Prince of Persia” is that it failed to innovate and got outshone by others in its genre, followed by a period where Ubisoft seemingly didn’t know what to do with it. But while we were all complaining about what we could only see on the surface, the studio began work in 2019 on something that would earn back some of its hard-earned respect.

With 2024’s “The Lost Crown,” the series switched to the Metroidvania genre, which is only one of many excellent decisions made in the franchise’s revitalization. This allowed Ubisoft to blend the time-bending, action elements of its games with the clever trap and level structure of Mechner’s originals. Just like its world design, the layers of narrative and Persian mythos are unraveled as you play, giving gamers more than one reason to want to keep going. New hero Sargon feels ridiculously good to control, whether in combat or while navigating its many deadly environments. The game has received incredibly strong reviews from most corners, including Mechner himself, who stated its the “Prince of Persia” he’s been wishing for. And who are any of us to argue with him?

Who knows what the future holds for “Prince of Persia?” Perhaps “The Lost Crown” will kick off a new series of Metroidvanias, or maybe the “Sands of Time” remake will come back stronger than ever and lead to a new, full 3D installment. Regardless, there are too many graveyards filled with too many dead franchises. It isn’t often one comes back to life. But when one does, and turns out this well, it’s something that should be celebrated. Welcome back, Prince. You’ve been missed.