Nintendo Switch Online members can play all of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown for free this week, no purchase required, through a limited-time Game Trial that Nintendo confirmed is running from September 24 through September 30, 2026. The catch, as IGN and GAMINGbible both reported when the trial went live, is that the download disappears the moment the clock runs out unless the player buys the game outright. For a title that Ubisoft Montpellier built as a 2D Metroidvania-style entry in a franchise better known for 3D platforming, the trial is both a marketing play and a data point in the ongoing story of how publishers try to squeeze more value out of games that didn’t sell as well as hoped the first time around.
The offer is simple on paper: download the full game, play as much of it as you want during the window, and decide whether to buy it before access shuts off. But the mechanics behind Nintendo’s Game Trial program, how it fits into the broader landscape of “try before you buy” gaming, and why Ubisoft is leaning on a nearly three-year-old release right now all say something about where console publishers are looking for revenue in late 2026.
What the Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Game Trial Actually Offers
Unlike a typical demo that locks players out of most of a game after 30 or 60 minutes, Nintendo’s Game Trial format hands over the entire, unrestricted release. Nintendo Switch Online members can download and play the full game at no additional cost during the trial window, according to Nintendo’s own announcement. There’s no level cap, no “demo version” watermark, and no separate save file that gets wiped when you buy the real thing. It is, functionally, the shipping product minus a permanent license.
Nintendo of America spelled out the window directly: “From Sept. 24 at 10 a.m. PT to Sept. 30 at 11:59 p.m. PT, Nintendo Switch Online members can download and try the full Prince of Persia The Lost Crown game for the Nintendo Switch system at no additional cost.” That statement, posted to Nintendo’s official “What’s New” page, is the closest thing to a primary source on the trial’s terms.
The game’s own eShop listing repeats the same window almost word for word, telling shoppers that “From September 24 at 10:00 a.m. PT to September 30 at 11:59 p.m. PT, Nintendo Switch Online members can download and try out the full Prince of Persia The Lost Crown game for no additional charge with this latest Game Trial,” per the product page on Nintendo’s store. Redundant confirmation across two Nintendo-owned properties is normal for Game Trials, since the company wants the dates to be unambiguous for anyone deciding whether to commit a week of playtime.
Exactly When the Trial Starts and Ends
The trial opened at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time on September 24, 2026, and closes at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on September 30, 2026. That’s a seven-day window in total. As of this article’s publish date of September 26, players have roughly four days left to start and finish as much of the campaign as they can before the download reverts to a locked, purchase-only state.
Time zone conversion matters here. Pacific Time puts the closing moment at 2:59 a.m. Eastern on October 1 for US East Coast players, and even later in the morning for European members, so anyone outside the Pacific zone should build in a buffer rather than cutting it close on the last night.
A Requirement That’s Easy to Miss
The trial is gated behind an active Nintendo Switch Online membership, a detail both Nintendo and outlets like GAMINGbible flagged clearly. Without a current subscription, the download simply isn’t available, regardless of platform. Nintendo UK’s official account reinforced the same point on social media, telling followers to “unleash your inner warrior in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, dashing in as a Game Trial from tomorrow, September 24th! #NintendoSwitchOnline members can download the full game for free,” a post reproduced by GAMINGbible alongside its own coverage of the announcement.
What Happens the Moment the Trial Ends
This is the “catch” IGN’s headline pointed at. The game is not free to keep. Once the trial period expires on September 30 at 11:59 p.m. PT, access ends automatically, and players who want to continue need to buy the full game separately. There’s no grace period built into the program itself, and no indication from Nintendo that unfinished progress gets special treatment once the trial closes.
Two practical questions that matter most to anyone mid-playthrough remain officially unconfirmed. First, Nintendo hasn’t published a specific discounted price for purchasing the game once the trial ends, so buyers should check the eShop listing directly rather than assume a promotional rate carries over. Second, whether progress made during the trial carries into a post-purchase save file hasn’t been confirmed in Nintendo’s official materials cited here. Players who care about continuity should treat their trial save as potentially disposable until Nintendo or Ubisoft clarifies otherwise.
Inside the Game: A 2D Metroidvania Take on a 3D Franchise
IGN describes Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown as a 2D Metroidvania-style entry in the franchise, a real departure from the acrobatic 3D platforming that defined the series across the Sands of Time era and 2010’s underrated reboot. Ubisoft Montpellier, the studio that made the switch, built a game around interconnected map exploration, gradually unlocked traversal abilities, and combat that leans closer to modern genre standards set by titles like Hollow Knight or Metroid Dread than to anything in the Prince of Persia back catalog.
That genre pivot is central to why this particular trial matters more than a routine promotional push. Metroidvanias tend to reward the kind of extended, uninterrupted playtime a seven-day full-access trial actually enables, unlike a fighting game or racer where a 30-minute demo can convey most of what a buyer needs to know. Giving players a full week with the entire map unlocked is arguably the single best way to let the genre sell itself.
Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 Support
IGN’s coverage names both Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 as supported platforms for the trial, meaning owners of either console can take part without needing a separate version or upgrade purchase. That dual-platform reach is notable given how much of Nintendo’s 2026 release calendar, from firmware work like the Switch 2’s VRR-enabling update to major first-party launches, has been built specifically around the newer hardware. A three-year-old third-party game getting equal billing on both consoles suggests Nintendo still wants Switch Online’s Game Trial slate to serve its enormous original Switch install base, not just early Switch 2 adopters.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown at a Glance
| Detail | Confirmed information |
|---|---|
| Developer | Ubisoft Montpellier |
| Platforms in trial | Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2 |
| Trial start | September 24, 2026, 10:00 a.m. PT |
| Trial end | September 30, 2026, 11:59 p.m. PT |
| Membership required | Nintendo Switch Online |
| Cost during trial | No additional cost (full game unlocked) |
| Genre | 2D Metroidvania-style action-adventure |
| Post-trial access | Ends automatically; purchase required to continue |
| Price after trial | Unconfirmed by Nintendo; check eShop listing |
| Save-data carryover | Unconfirmed by Nintendo |
How Nintendo’s Game Trial Program Works
Game Trials are a recurring benefit tucked inside a standard Nintendo Switch Online membership, distinct from the separate Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack tier that adds Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis libraries. Nintendo periodically rotates in a full, time-boxed copy of a third-party or first-party release, and members can install and play it without an extra transaction. The company has run the program for years, cycling through different genres and publishers rather than sticking to any fixed schedule.
There’s also a small loyalty incentive layered on top this time. Nintendo of America’s announcement noted that members can earn 100 My Nintendo Platinum Points by participating in this Game Trial, a detail that ties directly back into the same rewards system players use for other Switch Online perks. It’s a minor sweetener, but it nudges even players who have no intention of buying the game to at least launch it once during the window.
Why Publishers Agree to Give Away the Whole Game
From a publisher’s perspective, a Game Trial functions less like a discount and more like an extended, friction-free demo distributed through Nintendo’s own storefront and marketing channels. Ubisoft doesn’t have to run its own ad campaign or build a separate demo build; Nintendo does the distribution and the promotion, and Ubisoft only has to hope enough trial players convert into buyers, or into fans who then pick up other games in the franchise, such as the recently released Nintendo enforcement actions around unauthorized copies of its properties have shown the company still takes seriously.
How This Compares to Other Try-Before-You-Buy Models
Nintendo’s Game Trial isn’t the only model built around letting players sample a full release before paying. Xbox Game Pass takes a subscription approach where an entire catalog, not one rotating title, is available for as long as the subscription is active, with no separate trial window. PlayStation Plus offers a similar rotating-catalog structure tied to its higher membership tiers. Valve’s Steam takes yet another approach, letting buyers refund any purchase within a defined playtime and time-since-purchase limit rather than gating access up front. Each model solves the same basic problem, letting a player judge fit before committing money, but with different trade-offs around catalog breadth, time limits, and whether the player has to pay first and ask for a refund later.
| Program | Access model | Time structure | Refund/purchase path |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nintendo Switch Online Game Trial | One rotating full game, unlocked temporarily | Fixed short window (days) | Buy separately after trial to keep playing |
| Xbox Game Pass | Large rotating catalog | Ongoing while subscribed | Games can leave the catalog; no individual trial expiry |
| PlayStation Plus (higher tiers) | Rotating catalog tied to subscription tier | Ongoing while subscribed | Games can leave the catalog; no individual trial expiry |
| Steam refund policy | Buy first, refund if unsatisfied | Time-since-purchase and playtime limits apply | Refund request through Steam support |
Nintendo’s version is the most conservative of the four in terms of catalog breadth, since only one game rotates in at a time rather than a full library. But it’s also the lowest-friction for the specific title being promoted: there’s no purchase step at all until the player has already decided the game is worth keeping, which removes the psychological barrier of asking for a refund after the fact.
The Lost Crown’s Rocky Path Since Its Original Launch
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown originally launched in January 2024 to strong critical reception, with reviewers praising its combat, movement, and level design as a genuine reinvention of a franchise that had gone dormant for years, a reception reflected in its aggregate scores on sites like Metacritic. Despite that reception, Ubisoft’s own investor communications in the months that followed acknowledged the game had underperformed commercial expectations, part of a broader pattern of critically well-liked Ubisoft titles struggling to find a proportional audience at retail. That gap between critical praise and commercial performance is exactly the kind of situation a Game Trial is designed to address: get more people playing a game they might otherwise have skipped, on the theory that hands-on time converts skeptics better than a trailer or a review score ever could.
Running the trial in late September 2026, nearly three years after the original release, also lines up with a broader industry pattern of publishers finding second and third acts for back-catalog titles rather than only chasing new releases. Ubisoft has leaned on catalog revivals elsewhere too, and Nintendo’s own storefront has increasingly become a venue where older, well-reviewed but under-sold games get a fresh promotional push, including bundling and pricing moves the company has made around other titles like the recent Nintendo storewide sale tied to its tariff-refund messaging.
Market Impact: Why This Trial Matters Beyond One Game
For Nintendo, every Game Trial is a low-cost way to keep the Switch Online subscription feeling active between major first-party releases. The company doesn’t have to develop anything new to run one, and it reinforces the value proposition of a membership that some players otherwise associate mainly with online multiplayer access. With Switch 2 hardware demand still running hot enough that limited items have sold out and drawn scalper markups earlier this year, Nintendo has every incentive to keep both the older Switch base and the newer Switch 2 base engaged with the subscription tier that generates recurring revenue long after hardware sales settle down.
For Ubisoft, the calculus is different. The publisher has spent much of 2026 working through cost pressures and portfolio decisions across its studio network, and a near-zero-cost promotional push for an existing, finished game is about as efficient as marketing spend gets. If even a modest percentage of trial participants convert to paying customers, or pick up other Ubisoft Montpellier-developed titles as a result, the trial pays for itself many times over relative to a traditional ad campaign. It also keeps the Prince of Persia franchise visible on Nintendo hardware at a moment when the company has other titles, including recent third-party ports bundling multiple expansions onto Switch 2, competing for the same players’ attention and wallets.
What Players Should Do Before the Window Closes
- Confirm an active Nintendo Switch Online membership before attempting the download; the trial won’t appear without one.
- Download early rather than waiting for the final day, since download and install time eats into the fixed seven-day window.
- Track playtime against the September 30, 11:59 p.m. PT cutoff in your own local time zone, not Pacific Time, to avoid losing access mid-session.
- Decide on a purchase before the trial ends if continuity of progress matters, since Nintendo has not confirmed whether trial saves transfer to a purchased copy.
- Check the eShop listing directly for current pricing rather than assuming any specific post-trial discount, since Nintendo has not published one.
Predictions: Where This Leads Next
A few things seem likely to follow from this trial, based on how Nintendo and Ubisoft have both operated through 2026 so far.
- Expect a short post-trial sale window. Nintendo and third-party publishers frequently pair a Game Trial’s closing days with a discount on the eShop listing, giving converted players a direct next step even though no specific price has been confirmed for this title yet.
- More Metroidvania-style trials are likely. Given how well the genre fits a full-access, multi-day trial format compared to shorter demos, expect Nintendo to keep favoring exploration-heavy genres for future Game Trial slots.
- Ubisoft will likely keep mining its back catalog for low-cost promotion. With development budgets under scrutiny industry-wide, giving away temporary access to already-finished games is a cheaper marketing lever than most alternatives, and Ubisoft has reason to reuse it.
- Switch and Switch 2 parity in trials will probably continue. As long as a large share of the active player base remains on original Switch hardware, expect Nintendo to keep running trials that work across both consoles rather than reserving them for Switch 2 exclusively.
- Watch for clarity on save-data carryover in future trial announcements. As more publishers use full-game trials, pressure will likely build on Nintendo to standardize whether progress persists after purchase, since it’s currently one of the biggest points of player confusion.
The Bigger Picture for Nintendo Switch Online
Game Trials are a small line item next to Nintendo’s headline businesses of hardware and first-party software, but they function as a retention tool that costs the company very little to operate. Every trial that lands on a well-reviewed, previously under-sold game like The Lost Crown reinforces the argument that a Switch Online membership is worth renewing even in months without a major first-party release. That’s a meaningful consideration heading into a stretch where Nintendo’s own firmware and platform maintenance work continues alongside its release calendar, since subscription retention depends as much on perceived ongoing value as on any single game launch.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown actually free to keep?
No. It’s free to play only during the Game Trial window from September 24 through September 30, 2026. Access ends automatically once the trial closes, and continuing to play requires buying the game.
Do I need Nintendo Switch Online to play the trial?
Yes. An active Nintendo Switch Online membership is required to download and play the game during the trial period.
What time does the trial end?
The trial closes at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on September 30, 2026. Convert that to your local time zone to avoid losing access mid-session.
Does the trial work on both Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2?
Yes, IGN’s coverage of the announcement names both Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 as supported platforms for this trial.
Will my trial progress carry over if I buy the game afterward?
Nintendo has not officially confirmed this detail. Players who want to be safe should assume trial progress may not transfer and plan accordingly.
How much will the game cost after the trial ends?
Nintendo has not published a specific post-trial price in its official announcement. Check the game’s eShop listing directly for current pricing.
What kind of game is Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown?
IGN describes it as a 2D Metroidvania-style action-adventure game, a departure from the series’ traditional 3D platforming, developed by Ubisoft Montpellier.
Is there a reward for trying the game during the trial?
Nintendo of America noted that Nintendo Switch Online members can earn 100 My Nintendo Platinum Points by participating in this Game Trial.