Is Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown a Reboot, Prequel, or Sequel?

After over a decade since a new game, the Prince of Persia franchise returns with another entry. Ahead of the game’s release, there is continued speculation about whether the Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is a reboot, prequel, or sequel to previous games in the series. Here’s the answer.

Is Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown a Reboot, Prequel, or Sequel?

The Prince of Persia has seen a reboot before, with the release of 2003’s Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and again with 2008’s Prince of Persia. Each of these previous titles started its own separate continuities from the original game series that began in 1989, with The Sands of Time creating its own sub-series spanning four games.

In an interview ahead of its release with Rock, Paper, Shotgun, The Lost Crown game director Mounir Radi clarified that this game was not another reboot for the franchise. Instead, he referred to it as “a whole new chapter” before adding that fans could have it “perceived as a prequel” to previously released games in the series. Radi explained that this association is due to The Lost Crown drawing in elements and inspirations from across the Prince of Persia series without specifying its references or overall placement in the franchise’s chronology.

With this in mind, that would place The Lost Crown somewhere earlier in the timeline, likely in the same continuity as the well-received entry The Sands of Time, potentially centuries before the 2003 game’s story takes place. Another possibility is that The Forgotten Crown takes place in the original timeline that started with 1989’s game or its 2008 reboot, but The Sands of Time has overshadowed the other continuities critically and commercially to become the face of the franchise. The most likely scenario is that any direct references to canon will be tenuous, at best, as The Lost Crown offers the franchise its latest fresh start.