Prince of Persia games in order, and which to buy now

With the Sands of Time remake cancelled in January 2026, the Prince of Persia series you can actually buy has stopped growing, and almost all of it is on sale on Steam until 8 October. That makes it a good moment to get the Prince of Persia games in order, both by release date and by story, and then to check which of this week's sale prices are genuinely low. Our price record says they are not all equal: the old trilogy at $1.99 is about what it always costs, while one of the two new games is at the lowest price we have ever recorded.

The Lost Crown (2024) swapped the Prince for Sargon, one of the Immortals, and the 3D action for a 2D Metroidvania. (Official Steam screenshot)

Prince of Persia games in order of release

The main series, oldest first. The first three predate Steam and are not sold there; everything from 2003 onwards links to its price page.

1. Prince of Persia (1989): Jordan Mechner's original, first on the Apple II.
2. Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame (1993).
3. Prince of Persia 3D (1999): the first move into 3D.
4. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2003): Ubisoft's reboot, and the one that defines the series for most players.
5. Prince of Persia: Warrior Within (2004): darker, heavier on combat.
6. Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones (2005): closes the Sands of Time trilogy.
7. Prince of Persia (2008): a cel-shaded, standalone reboot with a new Prince.
8. Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (2010): a return to the Sands of Time Prince.
9. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (2024): the 2D Metroidvania.
10. The Rogue Prince of Persia (early access 2024, full release August 2025): a roguelite from Evil Empire.

The Sands of Time games in story order

Release order and story order only disagree in one place. The Forgotten Sands came out last but is set in the seven years between the first two games, so the chronological route through the Sands of Time Prince's story is:

1. The Sands of Time
2. The Forgotten Sands
3. Warrior Within
4. The Two Thrones

The others stand alone. The 2008 game is its own continuity, The Lost Crown follows Sargon rather than the Prince, and The Rogue Prince of Persia tells a self-contained story built for repeat runs. You can start any of those three without having played anything else.

The Sands of Time, 2003. The rewind mechanic it introduced is still the series' signature. (Official Steam screenshot)

What our price record says about this sale

Steam's current promotion, ending 8 October, puts the five older games at $1.99 each (80% off $9.99), The Lost Crown and The Rogue Prince of Persia at $8.99 each (70% off $29.99), and the full seven-game Prince of Persia Franchise bundle at $25.13 against a $98.94 list price. Here is how those numbers compare with what Playze has tracked since 18 June 2026, read on 3 October 2026:

• The five older games are not a special event. Across 269 daily readings for Sands of Time, Warrior Within, The Two Thrones, the 2008 game and The Forgotten Sands, the cheapest listing was $2.00 or less on 201 days, roughly three days in four, and never above $3.87. The lowest we have recorded is $1.59. Buy them now if you want them, but there is no reason to rush: $1.99 is close to their normal price at the cheapest store.
• The Lost Crown is a good price, not a record. Over 100 daily readings its cheapest listing has a median of $10.46, and the sale's $8.99 has been matched or beaten on 31 of those days. Our record low is $6.65 at Keycense on 20 September 2026, less than two weeks ago. The Complete Edition, which adds the Mask of Darkness story DLC and cosmetic outfits, is $11.99 in the same sale.
• The Rogue Prince of Persia is at its floor. In 28 readings the cheapest listing has been $8.99 or less on exactly two days: 26 June 2026 and 1 October 2026. Its median is $16.35. It is also thinly stocked, with only two stores carrying it, so the official sale is likely to be the cheapest route for a while.

The bundle maths is simple. Bought one by one at sale prices, the seven games come to $27.93, so the Franchise bundle saves $2.80. Steam reduces a bundle's price for games you already own, so check the bundle page before buying singles.

The Lost Crown launch trailer, from Ubisoft's own YouTube channel.

Which Prince of Persia game to play first

If you want one modern game: The Lost Crown. It is the best-reviewed of the recent entries, with 84% positive across 7,330 Steam reviews, and since 10 September 2026 it no longer needs the Ubisoft Connect launcher on Steam. It was the first game moved to Ubisoft's new Connect Services, which keeps cross-progression and challenges without the separate launcher, and that makes it noticeably easier to run on Steam Deck.

If you want the classic: The Sands of Time, then the rest of the trilogy in the story order above. With the remake gone, the 2003 original is the only way to play it. It is 86% positive across 5,337 Steam reviews, and for under $2 it is the cheapest way into the series by a distance.

Traversal in The Lost Crown leans on the series' platforming roots. (Official Steam screenshot)

If you like runs and repetition: The Rogue Prince of Persia, with one caveat. Its September anniversary update added new weapons, tools and arena challenge rooms, and Evil Empire has said it is the game's final update. What you buy now is the finished game, with no more content planned. At its lowest-ever price, that is fine for a roguelite, but it is worth knowing.

If you want something different: the 2008 Prince of Persia, with its painterly art style and a companion, Elika, who saves you from every fall, so you never see a game-over screen. Warrior Within is the opposite, the darkest and most combat-heavy entry, and best played in sequence.

The anniversary update trailer for The Rogue Prince of Persia, from Ubisoft's channel. This is the last content update the game will get.

What happened to the Sands of Time remake

It was announced at Ubisoft Forward in 2020 for January 2021, developed by Ubisoft Pune and Mumbai. It was delayed in March 2021, moved to Ubisoft Montreal in May 2022, delayed again, and given a 2026 window in June 2024. In January 2026 Ubisoft cancelled it as part of a company restructuring. Nothing has replaced it, so if a list tells you to wait for it, the list is out of date.

Prince of Persia (2008), the standalone reboot. (Official Steam screenshot)

The bottom line

Play the Sands of Time trilogy in story order (Sands of Time, Forgotten Sands, Warrior Within, Two Thrones) and treat the 2008 game, The Lost Crown and The Rogue Prince of Persia as standalones. On price, the sale matters most for the two newer games: The Rogue Prince of Persia is at the lowest price we have recorded, and The Lost Crown is below its usual level though not at its record. The older games cost about $2 most of the time, sale or no sale. Prices move daily, so check the live listings on each game's page before you buy.