Because of an odd snafu, Atlus had confirmed Persona 3 Reload and Persona 5 Tactica, and that both games are coming to Xbox.
As reported by Video Games Chronicle, the Atlus Instagram account uploaded the trailers for the two games, but failed to make the uploads private. While those trailers have been made private again, of course, the cat is already out of the box and everyone knows what they need to know.
Both games are confirmed to be coming to Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Windows, and they will be Game Pass Day One. Atlus had recently started rereleasing their Persona games beyond PlayStation to multiple platforms, so it is possible that these games will also make it to PlayStation and Nintendo Switch. It is also possible that Microsoft paid for timed exclusivity for these games.
The leak is a strange situation for Microsoft. Of course, it is great that Xbox fans now know that the upcoming Xbox Games Showcase / Starfield Direct double bill really will have exciting new announcements. However, the fact that these announcements in particular were leaked early means they weren’t able to control the marketing for them. That subsequently means they aren’t sure if they can build as much hype for these games as they could have otherwise. While some fans may not believe it, that does have a real effect on how much games sell, and of course it affects everyone involved with the game too.
While the Persona games are growing in popularity, it would still be fair to say they occupy a popular niche, in comparison to tentpole franchises like Diablo or The Legend of Zelda. So maybe there won’t be that much an effect on these games, especially since they will be on Game Pass.
Now, we won’t share the trailers themselves, but since it can’t be avoided, we will reveal the information on the trailers below. If you would rather learn about these on the Xbox Games Showcase, you can skip the rest of the article.
Persona 3 Reload is a remake of the 2006 RPG, with the trailer indicating that it will be rebuilt in Unity. This one adds sim gameplay to the RPG base, as you have to spend as much time building your relationships with your classmates during the day, as you do fighting alongside them in turn based battles during the evening.
This sim element distinguishes modern Persona games from the previous Shin Megami Tensei franchise, as well as essentially every other RPG out there.
Now, Persona 3 itself has received a spate of rereleases through the years. In fact, Persona 3 Portable received a rerelease on all modern platforms earlier this year.
Atlus’ decision to remake Persona 3 must have been justified in the studio somehow. Perhaps they have added substantially more QOL features that were not present in previous versions. They could have also refined and clarified the story to establish a solid canon. This game is slated for release in early 2024.
Persona 5 Tactica is a spinoff featuring the fan favorite characters of Persona 5. While it features a chibi / super deformed art style reminiscent of Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth on the 3DS, it’s a completely different game. Persona Q was a dungeon crawler, while Persona 5 Tactica is a strategy RPG. This game is dated for November 17, 2023
