Prince of Persia (1989)
Prince of Persia is a 1989 platform video game made by Brøderbund Software.
Prince of Persia drops an unnamed prisoner into the dungeons beneath a Persian palace with one hour on the clock before the princess above is forced to marry the scheming vizier Jaffar. Jordan Mechner rotoscoped his brother's movements to build animations that felt genuinely physical, and the result is a platformer where momentum and timing govern every ledge, trap, and sword fight. The dungeons grow stranger and more treacherous floor by floor, and the ticking clock keeps every misstep costly.
Quick answers
What is Prince of Persia about?
Prince of Persia drops an unnamed prisoner into the dungeons beneath a Persian palace with one hour on the clock before the princess above is forced to marry the scheming vizier Jaffar. Jordan Mechner rotoscoped his brother's movements to build animations that felt genuinely physical, and the result is a platformer where momentum and timing govern every ledge, trap, and sword fight. The dungeons grow stranger and more treacherous floor by floor, and the ticking clock keeps every misstep costly.
When was Prince of Persia released?
Prince of Persia was released on 3 October 1989.
Who made Prince of Persia?
Prince of Persia was made by Brøderbund Software.
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Explore Prince of Persia guides
Prince of Persia in our writing
- Companion guide: Broderbund: Prince of Persia, Myst and the Early Software Age
A few thoughts on Prince of Persia
The 2010 film Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time adapts the franchise's later time-manipulation mechanics into a big-budget adventure. For the book angle, The Wrath & the Dawn shares the same Persian palace atmosphere and a clever narrative framing rooted in the Arabian Nights tradition.
Classic Arabian Nights stories on screen and page
Prince of Persia drew from a deep well of Persian and Arab storytelling. These works reach into the same tradition: dungeons, viziers, stolen princesses, and the narrow margin between death and triumph.
Games defined by fluid, physical movement
Prince of Persia was rotoscoped from real movement, and it changed what games could feel like. These titles carry that obsession with weight, momentum, and the body in space.
Fantasy novels set in ancient Persia and the Middle East
The game created a vivid world with almost no text. These books build it out in detail, exploring the courts, deserts, and intrigues of the same ancient geography.