Nintendo Switch Online members can play the full Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown free on Switch until Sept. 30, but the trial is time-limited and not yours to keep.
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Store links: Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown - Dark Prince Skin on Steam, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown on Steam
The full Lost Crown is free on Switch, but only on the clock
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is the latest Nintendo Switch Online Game Trial, which means subscribers can download and play the full Switch version at no additional cost from Sept. 24 at 10 a.m. PT through Sept. 30 at 11:59 p.m. PT, according to Nintendo’s official announcement.
The important word is trial. Nintendo’s Game Trials program gives members access to the full product during a fixed window, rather than a limited demo with a chopped-off opening chapter. Video Games Chronicle reports that The Lost Crown can be downloaded in its entirety and played without content restrictions until the trial period ends. Once that deadline passes, the free access ends too.
That creates the central bargain for anyone searching for a Prince of Persia The Lost Crown free Switch offer: yes, this is the complete game, and yes, it is playable for free if you have Nintendo Switch Online. The catch is that it is a temporary entitlement tied to the subscription perk, not a free copy added permanently to your library.
How Switch players can access the Lost Crown Switch trial
Nintendo says Nintendo Switch Online members can download and try the full Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown game through the Nintendo eShop or Nintendo Store listing during the trial window. The offer is attached to Nintendo’s Game Trials program, so players should look for the Game Trial option on the game’s store page while signed into an account with an active Nintendo Switch Online membership.
IGN also notes that members can find related reward details through the Missions & Rewards section on the Nintendo Switch Online portal or from the Nintendo Switch home screen. Nintendo’s own post confirms that subscribers can earn 100 My Nintendo Platinum Points by completing a mission connected to the trial.
There is a small platform wording wrinkle. Nintendo’s official US post frames the offer as a Game Trial for the Nintendo Switch system, while IGN and CBR both describe it as available to Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 owners. Nintendo’s same post also refers readers to future Game Trials playable on Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch systems. The safest reading is to treat this as a Switch Game Trial available through Nintendo’s Switch ecosystem, with Switch 2 access dependent on how the eShop and backward-compatible Switch software are presented on your hardware and account.
The catch before downloading: time, subscription, and ownership
The Lost Crown Switch trial has three practical limits. First, it requires Nintendo Switch Online. Nintendo identifies Game Trials as a membership perk, and IGN specifically states that players need to be Nintendo Switch Online members to use this offer.
Second, the trial expires at Sept. 30 at 11:59 p.m. PT. CBR spells out the ownership consequence clearly: as a Game Trial, The Lost Crown is not free to keep, and the free version becomes unavailable once the trial period ends. Players who want to continue after that have to buy the game.
Third, the trial is generous but not necessarily easy to finish on a normal schedule. VGC cites HowLongToBeat’s estimate of around 16 hours to reach the credits, while CBR points to lower-end completion estimates around 25 hours. Those figures are not identical, but they tell the same story: this is a real run at a full metroidvania, not a two-evening sampler for most players. If you plan to treat it like a Nintendo Switch free game trial and finish before the gate closes, start early, play in focused chunks, and expect exploration or optional challenges to stretch the clock.
Progress carries over if the trial sells you on it
Nintendo confirms that save data from the Game Trial carries over if you buy Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown during or after the offer. That detail matters for a game built around movement upgrades, backtracking, and the slow pleasure of turning a hostile map into a readable playground. Losing progress would make the trial feel like a rental. Carryover makes it closer to a full test drive.
Nintendo also says the digital version of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is 70% off on Nintendo eShop and Nintendo Store for a limited time, with that sale ending Oct. 7 at 11:59 p.m. PT. CBR reports that the discount brings the standard Switch version from $30 to $9, and the Complete Edition, which includes the Mask of Darkness expansion and digital bonuses such as alternate outfits, down to $12.
That discount continues a week beyond the trial’s end, so players do not have to buy before Sept. 30 to preserve their save. The smarter route is to download the trial first, see how the combat, traversal, and difficulty land for you, then decide whether the sale price is worth locking in before Oct. 7.
A strong fit for a trial because the craft shows quickly
The Lost Crown is a 2.5D action-platformer with metroidvania structure, starring Sargon in a mythological Persian world where time and space manipulation sit alongside swordplay and acrobatic movement. Nintendo’s description emphasizes mastering combat, unlocking Time Powers, and evolving Sargon from a sword-wielding prodigy into a larger-than-life hero.
That makes the game unusually well suited to a full-game trial. Platformers reveal their quality through feel: how cleanly a dash cancels into a jump, how legible enemy attacks are, how often a room teaches before it punishes. Ubisoft Montpellier’s game has been praised on those terms. VGC’s review called it “2024’s first hidden treasure” and highlighted its platforming, puzzles, and large map. IGN gave it an 8 out of 10, saying the 2D perspective helped capture strengths associated with the series while smoothing over issues from earlier 3D entries.
For players who bounced off the first trailer or simply missed the January 2024 launch, this trial is a low-risk way to judge the game by the thing that matters most: whether its movement clicks in your hands. Within an hour or two, you should know if its precision combat and exploration rhythm are your kind of challenge.
The offer lands after a complicated year for The Lost Crown
The free trial also arrives with an unusual amount of context around the game’s reception and future. VGC reports that Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown launched in January 2024 to positive critical reception and currently holds an 86 Metacritic score. At the same time, VGC notes that the game faced a negative community reaction after its Summer Game Fest 2023 reveal trailer, which the outlet says received only 20% likes on YouTube.
The business story became rougher after release. VGC reports that Ubisoft disbanded The Lost Crown team in October 2024, with Ubisoft saying that “most of the team members who worked on Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown have shifted to other projects that will benefit from their expertise.” IGN similarly reports that the team was disbanded after the critically lauded platformer failed to meet sales expectations, and says plans for a sequel were reportedly scrapped in favor of moving developers to other projects.
Those sequel details should be treated as reporting rather than a new Ubisoft announcement of future plans. What is confirmed by the material here is narrower: Ubisoft said the team members moved to other projects, while outlets reported disappointing sales expectations and grim sequel prospects. For players, the immediate takeaway is simpler. This Nintendo Switch Online trial gives a well-reviewed, commercially complicated platformer another chance to find the audience that may have skipped it at launch.
Who should download it before Sept. 30
If you already pay for Nintendo Switch Online and enjoy difficult action-platformers, the download is an easy recommendation. The Lost Crown’s strengths, according to Nintendo’s description and critical coverage from IGN and VGC, sit in exactly the areas a trial can test well: combat responsiveness, traversal, puzzle flow, and whether its map invites curiosity rather than fatigue.
If you are only interested because “Prince of Persia free to play Switch” sounds like a permanent giveaway, pause before clearing storage. This is a full-game trial, not a free claim. You can play until Sept. 30 at 11:59 p.m. PT, earn 100 My Nintendo Platinum Points through the connected mission, and keep your save if you buy, but you will need to purchase the game to continue after the trial expires.
The best use of the offer is to treat the first few sessions as a serious audition. Try the opening combat, push far enough to feel the upgrade loop, and decide before the Oct. 7 sale deadline whether $9 for the standard edition, as reported by CBR, or $12 for the Complete Edition is the right landing point for you.