Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown runs at 60fps or more on every console, showing the value of putting the Nintendo Switch first
Pushing PS5 and Xbox Series X performance to 4k/120fps
Ubisoft has revealed the specs for Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, and it seems that optimizing the game for the Nintendo Switch has given all consoles a boost.
To quickly catch you up, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown sees the series' signature time-traveling puzzles and desperate parkour through a side-scrolling lens, with the team even adding a Metroidvania twist, stepping off from the popularity of Hollow Knight and other games in the genre. It was then unsurprising to hear that the game was built first for the Nintendo Switch, a platform that's fostered countless Metroidvania hits.
Writer James Galizio heard from Ubisoft that Switch was the team’s "lead platform." As Galizio notes, when games in this genre are "multi-million sellers on the platform… it shouldn't come as any surprise that other companies (Ubisoft/Disney) might take notice." The Microsoft-owned Ori games even jumped to the rival platform after an Xbox-exclusive tenure.
This is amazing news. I'm so much more interested in games hitting 4k120 than any graphics technology. https://t.co/fyFRVA7rZ7January 4, 2024
Now, Ubisoft has revealed that The Lost Crown will run at 1080p/60fps when the Nintendo Switch is docked, while handheld mode runs at 720p/60fps. That 60fps benchmark is especially impressive for an aging system like the Switch, but prioritizing the weakest system also means that every version of the game will run at 60fps, even on PS4 and Xbox One. PS5 and Xbox Series X can enjoy a whopping 4k/120fps performance, while the Xbox Series S is capped at 1440p/60fps. You can find the PC specs here to prepare your rig for the minimum, recommended, and ultra settings.
Prioritising the Nintendo Switch seems to have benefitted all console players in this instance, and it's hopefully a trend that continues when the console's successor inevitably drops. Activision emails worryingly claimed the system's tech would be more comparable to the PS4 and Xbox One, but we won't know for sure until Nintendo begins to publicly discuss the nebulous machine. Secretly, they have been reportedly showing the 'Switch 2' to developers behind closed doors.
See what else is on the horizon with our upcoming games of 2024 and beyond guide.
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Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.
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