Persona 3 Reload will be released on Feb. 2, 2024, ATLUS West announced today.
Following an accidental leak back in June, fans were ecstatic about the revival of this iconic Persona title but eager to learn more about the exact time of its release. And on Aug. 23, ATLUS West confirmed the release date and showed just how close we are to the game’s launch.
Along with the release date, ATLUS West provided a link for preorders, which covers physical and digital copies on Xbox Game Pass, Xbox X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5 (PS5), PlayStation 4 (PS4), and Steam. The preorder also covers various editions for the digital release, some of which offer a DLC pack and a digital art book.
The reveal even provided a new trailer, showing off the new Persona 5-stylized graphics and fully animated cutscenes. Unlike in Persona 3 Portable, all locations in Persona 3 Reload will be able to be explored on foot again, meaning players can explore Gekkoukan High School, the SEES Dorm, and other iconic locations instead of pointing and clicking on the map. It’s still unclear whether party members will be controllable in combat like in the later titles or if Persona 3 Reload will base its combat on the original title and Persona 3: FES, where party members were controlled by the computer with little interaction from the player.
Another important takeaway from the trailer is that the Female Main Character (lovingly dubbed “FeMC” by the Persona community) and the “Answer Arc” that follows the original game’s main story in Persona 3: FES both appear to be omitted from Persona 3 Reload, which is sure to disappoint many fans of the series. Not all content from these routes will be lost, though, as evidenced by the Ken Amada social link, which used to be exclusive to FeMC in Persona 3: Portable. Considering that DLC is already confirmed to be a part of the game, it’s not entirely impossible that this content might appear in future installments.
The last rerelease of this game was Persona 3 Portable back in 2009, so this title is sure to attract a lot of players who have never experienced this story before. Despite some of the cut content bumming out seasoned players, there could be more information revealed in the future as we near this game’s release that will improve its current reception.
