When is The Rogue Prince of Persia release date? Two Prince of Persia games in one year — yes, that’s the world we’re living in. After years of silence, the legendary side-scrolling series appears to be back in a big way. Unlike Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown which is a traditional Metroidvania, this game has been designed as a roguelike.
Developed by Evil Empire, one of the studios responsible for the critically acclaimed Dead Cells DLC, The Rogue Prince of Persia utilizes the series’ key elements, while tying in roguelike game mechanics to make the game infinitely replayable. Here’s everything you need to know about The Rogue Prince of Persia, including its estimated release date, the early access launch, and more.
The Rogue Prince of Persia early access release date
The Rogue Prince of Persia launched on Steam Early Access on Monday, May 27, 2024. Evil Empire wants to spend at least one year in early access, but it anticipates staying in this period for a slightly longer based on community feedback. “If we need to take a couple [of] months more to improve the game because you’re giving us great suggestions, then we’ll do it!” says the devs on its Steam page.
The early access date was originally set for May 14, 2024, but Evil Empire decided to postpone the launch to distance The Rogue Prince of Persia from Hades 2’s surprise release. “It’s not every day that a game in the same genre as you, which is one of the most anticipated upcoming games of 2024, will release into early access a week before you plan to do the same,” the statement reads. “We are not prideful enough to ignore the implications of that.”
During the early access period, players have access to the game’s first act that includes six levels containing two bosses. There are a range of primary and secondary weapons to try out, as well as upgrades and medallions to alter the way you approach combat.
The Rogue Prince of Persia release date estimate
The Rogue Prince of Persia doesn’t have a set release date right now, but judging by the information on the game’s Steam page, it will likely launch around Q2 2025. The developers have said it wants to spend at least one year in early access.
Evil Empire hasn’t confirmed any platforms or storefronts apart from Steam. Based on numerous factors, we assume The Rogue Prince of Persia will launch on PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, Android, and iOS devices. While the two games aren’t entirely comparable, The Rogue Prince of Persia shares a lot in common with Dead Cells, including its simple graphics that make the game playable on practically any platform.
The plan for the full release of The Rogue Prince of Persia is expected to have double the amount of content from the early access. As a result, the price of the game will increase as more content is added. The Rogue Prince of Persia currently doesn’t have a price point, but we’ll update this guide as soon as we find out.
The Rogue Prince of Persia roadmap
It appears Evil Empire is getting ready to add considerably more content to the game over the coming months. While September and October feature the level of updates that we’ve come to expect since launch, it’s November that we’ve got our eyes on. Dubbed “the mother of all updates”, the devs plan to add several bosses to the game, new enemies, biomes, in addition to a story act and art overhaul.
The November update, dubbed the ‘Second Art’ has officially landed, drastically improving the game’s already impressive visuals. In addition to changing the Prince’s look from purple back to brown, the backgrounds, character designs, and character portraits, have all received a refresh in response to negative feedback. Two new biomes, the Golden Mines and Craftsmen’s District, are also included, as well as five enemies and two bosses.
The Rogue Prince of Persia latest features
On July 11, the developers have added two new mobs and a speed boost mechanic that triggers during certain actions. The mobs replace the Lancers in the Gardens area and the Tower of Oblivion. The Steam blog post also teases a new difficulty mode coming in the next update, alongside a New Game+ system.
The September and October updates introduced some of the most significant changes to the game yet, with the former adding 13 weapons while reworking seven old ones, and the latter overhauling the entire medallion system. The weapons update finally gives you the ability to pick your weapon at the start of a run, easily one of the biggest complaints about the base game at launch.
Likewise, the medallion system was overhauled as a result of player feedback, opening up the potential for powerful builds. That said, the devs do note that this system is likely to be scaled back as you can get a bit too powerful, so make sure of it while you can. The October update also adds in the Rescue mechanic to stop little girls from being hunted by the Huns’ corruption, similar to the scene in the reveal trailer. These are optional side quests you can take on, but be warned that this mission will only be offered once per run.
The Rogue Prince of Persia test branch
Once you own the early access game on Steam, you can play the latest test branch to gain access to unreleased content. While the content in the early access branch is a work in progress, the beta branch hasn’t been tested anywhere near as much. This gives you the chance to shape the game by providing your early feedback immediately, helping the devs out immensely. The first public test branch features a new biome, mob, weapon, and meta progress.
If you’re feeling brave, give the Test Beta Branch blog post a read to discover how to back up your save data first. Staying on the test branch will automatically update your game with the newest content, but the devs do warn players that you won’t be receiving a new biome every week.
The Rogue Prince of Persia trailers
The Rogue Prince of Persia reveal trailer gives us a glimpse of roguelike in the form of an animation and via in-game footage. The opening scene of the reveal video shows off the Prince fighting several soldiers. The Steam page indicates these soldiers are a Hun army that has been corrupted by dark shamanic magic. We get our first look at the game’s art direction, revealing skin tones as a range of purples against the yellows of the terrain.
After defeating numerous enemies, the Prince takes a moment to save a little girl from a dangerous solider. He takes off once more, this time displaying his acrobatic skills as he swings across rooftops and runs along walls. The Prince gets a chance to use a tool, a spinning blade, capable of ripping through a large bug carrying another little girl. Multiple enemies wearing skulls as masks fire arrows onto the battlefield — the Prince protects the girl, but it costs him his life.
The trailer transitions over to in-game footage as the Prince respawns and runs forward, seamlessly blending into the game. The Prince makes his way through various landscapes in this side-scrolling adventure, battling enemies in hand-to-hand combat, before switching to a sword to take down numerous enemies. There are plenty of environmental hazards to dodge, including rotating blades, spike traps in the ground, and deadly wall traps. Fortunately, the Prince has plenty of mobility options to dodge right past these traps with ease.
Evil Empire has been dropping community update videos every few weeks hosted by Matthew Houghton, Evil Empire’s marketing manager. These videos cover a different topic about the game to give fans an insight into the developers’ minds.
The ‘Weapons Within’ trailer shows off the weapons update that hit the game in September. This update includes 13 new weapons, alongside seven old weapons receiving reworks to give the game more variety when it comes to combat. The update also features weapon racks at the beginning of each run, allowing you to choose the weapon you start the game with.
The Rogue Prince of Persia gameplay
The main elements that make The Rogue Prince of Persia unique are the platforming and combat options. Wall-running is an essential part of the game, allowing you to reach areas that would otherwise be inaccessible. You can even wall-run up vertically, but not downwards. If you want to slow down your descent, providing you have a dagger you have the option to plunge it into the wall, giving you more time to think about your next move. When you master the Prince’s movement abilities, you should be able to zoom through stages, swinging from poles and wall-running past enemies.
The Prince has various weapons at his disposal, from fast-attacking blades to heavy spears. Each weapon has a combo and a special attack, but the devs don’t want you to constantly spam the attack button, as there are smarter ways to approach combat. You also have access to a kick while holding your weapons, this can be extremely useful depending on your surroundings. If there are spikes below you, you can kick an enemy down into them. Likewise, if there’s a trap behind an enemy, all you need to do is kick them into it.
You also have access to tools, but unlike your primary weapons, these tools can only be used if you have enough charges available. These tools change the way you approach combat, for example, the bow and arrow gives you the ability to pick enemies off from afar. However, you might prefer to use the spinning blade, which deals more damage but doesn’t travel as far. Your charge bar sits underneath your health bar — it can be built by attacking enemies.
Finally, there are Medallions, special upgradable items that activate effects depending on what their trigger is. You can activate up to four Medallions at once, ranging from effects like releasing a cloud of poison on hit, to restoring a certain amount of health each time you encounter a Well of Dreams.
Since its release, there have been some updates implemented with new features. This includes a new biome (Temple of Fire), a meta-progression addition, some new traps and mobs to avoid, and a new weapon.
And that’s everything we know about The Rogue Prince of Persia so far, but stay tuned as we’re going to update this guide whenever there’s a new update. You can learn about the game at launch in our Rogue Prince of Persia review, which talks about the game in its first early access stage. If you’re looking for fantastic games that you can play entirely on your own, head on over to our best single-player games guide. We also have a list of the best upcoming games, so you can find more titles like this one that are set to launch properly in 2025.