February 7, 2024 Further information from both Midori and Head on the Block has surfaced. This article has been updated to reflect it.
Persona 3 Reload has not long hit the shelves, and already rumors are circulating that developer Atlus has more in store for the popular JRPG series on PS5 and Xbox. According to reputable leaker ‘Midori’, the studio has Persona 1, Persona 2 and Persona 4 on its radar. As per ‘Head on the Block’, it looks like Persona 2 won’t quite get the same treatment as P3R, and will instead be remastered.
Responding to a thread querying the existence of both games at Atlus HQ, Midori confirms the trio are there. Head on the Block says that “Persona 2 Redemption is either releasing before [Persona] 6 or the year after,” while “P4 is years away.” Unsurprisingly, Atlus seems to be keen to continue riding the money train following the successes of Persona 5 and now Persona 3 Reload – two of the best RPG games out there.
But what would these remakes/remasters look like? Head on the Block states that the remaster will include “both games” – those being P2: Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment. The leaker says that a “new translation is the selling point,” and the game will be coming to “every console including Switch 2 and next-gen Xbox.”
While Persona 4 details are much thinner on the ground, predicting how it would materialize is a lot more cut and dry. 2012’s Persona 4 Golden is the most comprehensive version of the game available – akin to Persona 5 Royal – and should serve as the basis for the remake. Golden already has a whopping 93 Metacritic score, and a high-quality remake of the PS Vita game could see it match, or even surpass, the 95 score held by P5R.
Regardless of how they’d come out in the wash, it’s clear that Atlus is all-in on current-generation remakes. The Persona series has produced some of the best games of all time, and revitalizing what were already excellent games for current-gen hardware has proven a surefire strategy for success. As such, we feel that there’s some weight to Head on the Block and Midori’s words.
With that being said, it’s not like Atlus is only targeting remakes. The incredible-looking Metaphor: ReFantazio arrives this Fall, while Persona 6 should be due within the next couple of years based on the current rumor mill (taken with a huge helping of salt, as always). It’s an exciting time to be a fan of Atlus’ games, and if the studio can give its other legacy Persona entries the same love it poured into P3R then we’re in for some real treats over the coming years.
For more of the latest PS5 and Xbox news, read up on Stellar Blade’s road from multi-platform RPG to one of the year’s biggest PS5 exclusives. Meanwhile, Phil Spencer has broken his silence on PS5 port rumors for Xbox exclusives – check it out.