After much waiting and anticipation, the mainline Persona series is making its debut on Xbox consoles and PC. Announced at the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase 2022, Persona 3, 4, and 5 will be coming to Xbox Game Pass, and the first release is right around the corner.
Rumors of the Persona series jumping from PlayStation exclusivity to more platforms have swirled in recent years to much fan excitement. Only recently has Atlus taken the initiative to expand the availability of its popular role-playing series following the success of a few PC ports. In 2020, Persona 4 Golden received a PC release, and in subsequent years, Atlus would bring various spin-off titles like Persona 5 Strikers and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax to more platforms, including Xbox. Notably missing, though, were the mainline titles, Persona 3, 4, and 5, which have now found a new home on Xbox and PC.
In a trailer presented at the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase, fans can see all three classic Persona games running at higher frame rates and higher resolutions, likely being given the same treatment that Persona 4 did on PC. Notably, the versions coming to Xbox and PC are the expanded iterations of the mainline titles, including Persona 3 Portable, Persona 4 Golden, and Persona 5 Royal. Atlus’ rollout of its popular JRPG franchise starts with the most recent Persona 5 Royal, slated for release on October 21, 2022. There are no other confirmed release dates for the rest of the games at the time of this writing, but they will likely be available throughout 2023.
Atlus is a developer that is infamous for its inconsistency in its porting endeavors, frequently scattering its games across platforms seemingly at random. For example, Persona 5 Strikers is the direct sequel to Persona 5 and was released on Xbox and PC without its predecessor available on either platform with Persona 4 Arena Ultimax following the same trend. Today's announcement brings every mainline Persona game from the PS2 era and onwards to single unified platforms, likely to the delight of fans but also with some troubling implications for those not on Xbox or PC.
In keeping with Atlus’ inconsistent porting record, it appears that PlayStation and Nintendo fans will be missing out on these Persona ports. While today’s showcase focused solely on new games coming to Xbox Game Pass and PC, there is still no news regarding PlayStation and Switch ports despite Atlus’ storied history with both platforms. Persona’s 25th Anniversary still has a few announcements left, so all that players can hope for is that these games are announced for their console of choice as well.
Persona 5 Royal is available for PS4 and PS5 and launches on October 21 for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.