If you’ve played Persona 3 Reload since its arrival in February, you know that Atlus put a ton of work into this remake to ensure that it not only maintained the spirit of the original title but that it resembled something that would fit in the modern world of gaming. The series’ third game was the one that saved Atlus from closure, and it helped keep the franchise alive as a whole. The problem was that the game hasn’t exactly “aged well” via its visuals, and the release last year of a multiplatform version of the original heightened the desire for it to get the “modern makeover.”
Sure enough, not only was Persona 3 Reload a hit on the individual level but it’s apparently helped the enter franchise reach a new milestone. According to Atlus on Twitter, the entire franchise has crossed 22 million units sold! The important reason is manyfold. First, while the franchise may have been beloved in the past, it didn’t have tons of sales success until the groundbreaking 5th entry. Even then, that game only sold so much, and then they did spinoffs of that game to help pad sales even more. There are more games than you might think in this franchise.
However, before this remake came out, the games were around about 15.5 million in October of 2022. That date is significant because that’s when the 5th title came to other consoles, including the Nintendo Switch. So between then and now, the franchise sold another six million units. While it’s not fair to give all of that credit to the recent remake, we know that within the first week of its launch, it sold over a million units. Given the positive word of mouth about the title, both by critics and fans, it’s likely that it’s gotten to two million, if not higher.
There were some other entries in the franchise that came out before the remake, including a tactics-themed spinoff of the 5th entry that arrived late last year and a mobile title, too! So, as you can see, Atlus has been working hard to keep the franchise alive, and the remake has helped push them to new heights!
As for what’s next for the franchise, everyone hopes the 6th entry is eventually announced. There are rumors and reports about the game coming out every few weeks or so, but Atlus hasn’t done anything to confirm any of them.