Key Highlights:
- Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is available in full through Nintendo Switch Online until September 30.
- Trial save data carries over if players later buy the game, but access itself does not remain after the promotion.
- The Switch version targets 60 FPS at 720p handheld and 1080p docked, with no Expansion Pack membership required.
Starting today, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown can be played in full through Nintendo Switch Online, giving subscribers until September 30 to explore Ubisoft Montpellier’s Metroidvania without buying it.
The offer is a Game Trial rather than a giveaway. Nintendo’s Game Trials provide access to the complete game for a limited period, after which it becomes unplayable unless the player purchases a copy. Save data is retained, however, so anyone who buys The Lost Crown afterwards can continue from exactly where they stopped.
A standard Nintendo Switch Online membership qualifies. The more expensive Expansion Pack tier is not required, and Nintendo confirms Game Trials can be accessed across Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. The Lost Crown remains Switch software rather than having a separate native Switch 2 release, so the newer console runs it through backward compatibility.
Nintendo is also pairing the promotion with a 70% digital discount. In North America, the sale continues until October 7, giving players another week after the trial to decide whether they want to keep going. European reporting lists the regional promotion through October 8.
Anyone starting The Lost Crown through the trial is getting a substantially expanded base game compared with what launched in January 2024.
Ubisoft added Speedrun and Permadeath modes through the free Warrior’s Path update, followed by Boss Revenge, Boss Rush and fast travel between Wak-Wak trees. The later Divine Trials update added 22 expert combat, platforming and puzzle challenges, alongside additional outfits and amulets.
The one major piece that is not automatically part of the Game Trial is the paid Mask of Darkness expansion. Nintendo’s own Game Trial rules say DLC can be purchased and used during a trial, but access to that DLC also disappears once the underlying trial ends unless the full game is purchased.
The Mask of Darkness expansion added Radjen’s Mind Palace, new traversal hazards, enemies and bosses in September 2024. Ubisoft now also sells a Complete Edition containing the base game, story DLC and additional cosmetics.
That makes the Game Trial a particularly good way of seeing whether Sargon’s core adventure clicks before paying for the broader package.
The original Switch was not treated as an afterthought when The Lost Crown launched.
Ubisoft targeted 60 FPS on every platform, with Nintendo Switch running at 720p in handheld mode and 1080p while docked. The UK Nintendo listing puts the base game’s download at a relatively modest 7.1 GB.
That performance was especially important for a game built around precise parries, fast movement and platforming rather than visual spectacle. The accessibility work was equally significant, with features such as adjustable parry timing and Memory Shards allowing players to pin screenshots of unexplored locations directly onto the map. The Lost Crown later won Innovation in Accessibility at The Game Awards 2024.
The game has also travelled considerably since its original release. The Lost Crown expanded to iOS and Android in 2025, where Ubisoft Da Nang adapted the same adventure for touch controls while retaining a 60 FPS target on recent mobile hardware.
Ubisoft confirmed in late 2024 that The Lost Crown had reached the end of its post-launch roadmap and that most of the Ubisoft Montpellier developers who worked on it had moved onto other projects. A later report based on a Ubisoft marketing director’s résumé put first-year sales at roughly 1.3 million copies, while the game eventually passed three million players.
Players can download the trial through Nintendo’s official Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown page.
For Switch owners who missed it the first time around, however, none of that changes the immediate offer. Nintendo Switch Online subscribers have the full base adventure available until September 30, and there is no requirement to finish it before deciding whether to buy. If the trial expires first, the save remains waiting should Sargon return to the library later.
