Play Prince of Persia online — the original 1990 DOS game Works — the full original game runs via DOSBox in your browser
Guide updated October 2026 · Runs via DOSBox + WebAssembly
Prince of Persia — Jordan Mechner's 1989 game in its 1990 DOS release. The Grand Vizier Jaffar has seized the throne, and the prince has sixty real-time minutes to escape the dungeons, climb through twelve levels of traps and swordsmen, and reach the princess before her time runs out. Click Play; the intro starts on its own, and any key begins the game.
D-pad: run, jump, crouch · SHIFT: careful step, grab, sword · ENTER/ESC: menus
⌨ Keyboard — for menus & name entry
Controls — what does what
| Action | Keyboard |
|---|---|
| Run / turn | Left / right arrows |
| Jump up / climb | Up arrow |
| Crouch / climb down | Down arrow |
| Careful step, grab a ledge, draw sword | Shift |
| Restart the level | Ctrl+A |
| Show time left | Space |
Runs in your browser tab with DOSBox + WebAssembly — nothing is uploaded. Click the screen to capture input; press Ctrl+F10 to release mouse.
Prince of Persia is no longer sold anywhere, and its publisher is gone or has left it unsold for decades. It is hosted here on the same footing as the Internet Archive's software collections. That is a practical position, not a legal claim. This page carries no advertising. Provenance: /apps/prince-of-persia/NOTICE.md. Rights holders: it comes down within 48 hours on request.
About Prince of Persia
Mechner animated the prince by rotoscoping video of his brother running and jumping, which is why the movement still looks remarkably natural. There is no health bar to refill freely: potions restore one triangle, spikes and long falls kill outright, and the clock never stops. Shift is the key that matters most. It turns a run into a careful step, grabs ledges as you fall, and draws your sword when a guard appears.
Tips for getting started
Hold Shift and tap an arrow to step right up to the edge of a gap. Ctrl+A restarts the current level at the cost of the time spent. Ctrl+G saves from level 3 onward.
Prefer an open-source version? SDLPoP
SDLPoP is a faithful open-source (GPLv3) port of the DOS game, rebuilt from a disassembly of the original. It runs natively on Windows, macOS and Linux, adds quicksave and widescreen options, and fixes a handful of original bugs. If you want to keep playing outside the browser, it is the best way to do it.
How it runs here
This is the DOS release of Prince of Persia as preserved in the Internet Archive, running in DOSBox compiled to WebAssembly. The whole game is about 1 MB, so it starts within seconds on a normal connection. Sound and music play once you click into the game.
Frequently asked questions
Can I play Prince of Persia online for free?
Yes. Click Play and the original 1990 DOS version starts in your browser, running in a WebAssembly build of DOSBox. Nothing to install and no account.
Why is Prince of Persia hosted here?
Prince of Persia is not sold anywhere today; we checked the stores listed in its provenance note. It is preserved here the way the Internet Archive preserves old software. That is a practical position, not a legal claim. If the rights holder (Ubisoft) asks, it comes down within 48 hours.
Does my progress save?
Saved games persist in this browser between visits, best-effort. Clearing site data removes them.
Can I play on a phone or tablet?
Yes. Touch buttons for the keys Prince of Persia uses appear under the game on touch devices.
More you can play in your browser
Related guides
- LemmingsPlay the original Lemmings in your browser: DMA Design's 1991 puzzle classic. Give lemming
- Duke NukemApogee's 1991 platformer that introduced Duke: the shareware episode, in your browser.
- Commander Keenid Software's 1990 platforming classic in your browser — the complete free shareware episo
- Run your own DOS gameHave another DOS game on disk? Drop it into the DOS player.
- Prince of Persia on a MacintoshThe 1992 Mac version, playable on an emulated Mac at macemu.com, our sister site.
Want a game like this on your own site?
Prince of Persia isn't ours to give away — we host it, we didn't write it. But eleven of the games here we did write from scratch, and those are free for anyone to put on their own page: one line of HTML, no account, no permission, no attribution beyond a credit line.