PRINCE OF PERSIA

The Atari XL/XE port of "Prince of Persia" marks a significant event in the retro gaming community. Originally created by Jordan Mechner and released for the Apple II in 1989, "Prince of Persia" became an iconic platformer known for its fluid animation and engaging gameplay. The game saw numerous ports to various systems but had not been officially available for the Atari 8-bit computers until a dedicated team brought it to life.

After two years of intense development, the team managed to port "Prince of Persia" from the BBC Master version, keeping the game's core experience intact for Atari XL/XE users. This effort made it possible for Atari 8-bit users to enjoy the game with 128Kb of RAM, opening up a nostalgic journey back to one of the most influential games of its time. The Atari port was made possible thanks to contributions from several individuals on both the artistic and technical fronts. The art side included contributions for character art and the Princess room by @TIX, music and sound effects by multiple artists such as @miker, @VinsCool, @emkay, @makary, and @superrune, who contributed the title picture. The technical aspects were handled by @dmsc with the Soundplayer, Xbios by @xxl for disk loading and unpacking, development and testing facilitated by Altirra software by @phaeron, and several others contributing to packing and unpacking tools​​​​​​.

The game was released on October 25, 2021, bringing an end to the long wait for Atari 8-bit fans and allowing them to experience one of the defining games of the platformer genre on their beloved system​​.