Summer Game Fest is off to the races, leading off the barrage of summer announcements you can expect to see filling in the old E3 time slot. One of the first large announcements was from Ubisoft who revealed a new Prince of Persia game with Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown.
In Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, you aren't playing as the prince, but instead as Sargon, a young member of The Immortals - an elite group of warriors. They seek to rescue Prince Ghassan, and explore Mount Qaf, which has become a cursed and hostile place, where time itself has become a foe. The game draws on the style of a Metroidvania, giving it an exploratory action-adventure platformer with puzzles, secrets, and side quests.
Combat in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown makes use of a combo system as they battle in environments inspired by Persian mythology. Foes such as the Manticore block your way at key junctions and will need you to combine your skills to defeat. This is part of an attempt to bring a fresh take to the franchise and revitalize it. The game will feature Iranian composer Mentrix, who mixes both traditional instruments and modern sounds, along with award-winning composer Gareth Coker working on the music for boss fights.
Surprisingly for a new announcement, Ubisoft also gave us a Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown release date - you can expect to play it on January 18th, 2024 barring delays. It will be released on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4 & 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC
This announcement comes as we continue to wait for news on Prince of Persia: Sands of Time remake as the development of that game has not gone according to plan. Earlier this year, they announced that they had rebooted the development of the game at Ubisoft Montreal. One imagines that the original plan was for Sands of Time to release, and then The Lost Crown to further build on the brand. For more information about Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, Ubisoft suggests tuning into Ubisoft Forward on June 12th.