Nostalgia forPersona 3 PortableandPersona 4 Goldenhas remained high over the years, thanks in no small part due to Atlus' constant support for these games through spinoffs. However,Persona 3 PortableandPersona 4 Golden’s upcoming rereleases might be the very best example of Atlus' dedication to its past successes. The studio announced these in the middle of 2022, alongsidePersona 5 Royal’s journey to all current consoles, but the release date is fresh news. Fans can get their hands onP3PandP4Gin January 2023, only a couple months afterRoyalreturns, which is much sooner than fans may have expected.
The rereleases were always going to come relatively soon, given the fact that they were announced during the June 2022Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase; Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer assured viewers that everything at the showcase would release within the next 12 months, meaningPersonawas right around the corner. Sure enough,Persona 5 Royalwill release on Xbox, Switch, PS5, and PC just four months after the announcement, and the others are coming soon. Still, one would’ve expected Atlus to spread out these major releases a bit, but it’s great to see Atlus packagePersona 3andPersona 4into one date.
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Atlus is Delivering Persona at a Rapid Pace
Pesrona 5 Royalrereleasing before the others makes sense, since it’s the most up-to-date game right now. It already served as the gateway toPersonafor many fans, so it might as well reprise the role on new platforms. Beyond that, it was mostly a question of whether Atlus would prioritizePersona 4 GoldenandPersona 3 Portable.On the one hand, releasingPersona 3first would’ve made sense, sincePersona 4 Goldenis already available on PC right now. On the other hand, portingPersona 4 Goldenfirst would’ve given new fans a good road intoPersona’s past, traveling through the franchise in reverse chronological order.
Instead, however, both games will drop in January. Fans are at liberty to choose whether they want to pick up the more recentPersona 4and get in on the Steam release hype, or jump straight toPersona 3in order to explore the roots ofPersona’s famous social sim elements. While the games may compete with each other somewhat by releasing at the same time, since they’ll both be on a multitude of platforms, they’re bound to be successes anyway, especially after new fans have a taste ofPersona 5 Royala few months beforehand.
Options are always valuable in gaming, so Atlus has done fans a favor with this release date, but it could be a sign of even greater things to come. It doesn’t sound like Atlus wants to drag out thePersonarereleases, even though it could milk as much attention out of the process as possible. Because of its own haste, Atlus should have room to turn its attention to new projects by the middle of the year, once thePersona 3 PortableandPersona 4 Goldenhype has calmed down again. Summer 2022 could be a great time for Atlus to revealPersona 6orProject Re Fantasy.Both games have eluded fans for a long time, but once these ports are out of the way, they may get their due diligence.
Of course, with the help of these ports, there’s no rush for Atlus to pivot toPersona 6.Persona 3, 4,and5are all very long JRPGs that’ll keep fans occupied for quite some time, especially if they go for New Game Plus runs in order to meet everySocial Link and Confidantor collect every Persona. It’ll be up to Atlus to decide how soon it wants to move on to something new. In the meantime, though, the simultaneous releases ofPersona 3 PortableandPersona 4 Goldenare a wonderful opportunity for fans to explore somePersonahistory.
Persona 3 PortableandPersona 4 Goldenrelease Jul 21, 2025 for PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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