Xbox has teamed up with Atlus to bring the critically acclaimed Persona franchise to Xbox for the first time. Persona 3 Portable, Persona 4 Golden and Persona 5 Royal will all be coming to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and Windows PC, as well as to Xbox Game Pass. This starts with 21st October 2022 with Persona 5 Royal.
Update: Atlus has confirmed that these games are also all coming to PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 and PC, where not already available. In the case of P3P and P4G on PS5, these will play via backward compatibility. Here’s the dish:
- Persona 3 Portable – Xbox Series X|S, PS4, Xbox One, PC – 2023
- Persona 4 Golden – Xbox Series X|S, PS4, Xbox One – 2023
- Persona 5 Royal – PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC – 21st October
Persona 4 Golden is already available on PC via Steam and on PS Vita, while Persona 5 Royal is already out on PlayStation 4, and playable on PS5 via BC.
Persona has grown into one of the best known and beloved JRPG franchises of recent times. Persona began life as a spin-off from Atlus’ Megami Tensei franchise with the first game, Revelations: Persona, released in 1996 on the very first PlayStation console. The second title, Persona 2: Innocent Sin, was followed by Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, before we get to the trio of games that will be coming to Xbox over the next year or two.
Persona 3 Portable is the most recent release of Persona 3, which enhanced the PS2 original and added with new features like female playable characters and more battle controls, while also squeezing it down to work on PSP. Now it’s being enlarged to play on Xbox and PC, though I know that some fans would rather have Persona 3 FES, which had an epilogue story not available for P3P.
It’s a similar story for Persona 4 Golden. This originally came out for PS2, but was then given a portable release on PSP before a PS Vita port added new features and content. Persona 4 Golden already released for Windows PC in 2020, while the new Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S port is bringing it to a new home console audience.
The modern exception to this is Persona 5. This game came out in Japan for PS3 and PS4 in 2016 before a localised  PS4 release arrived in the west a year later. Once again, Atlus went back and expanded on the game with Persona 5 Royal, adding new narrative elements to the title.
All games have a common theme of following school children as they navigate both everyday life and continually delve into the supernatural, using Personas to battle against demons and restore order to the world. In Persona 5, the student protagonists are disguising themselves as thieves to tackle the city of Tokyo’s corruption and escape societal pressures.
Persona 5 Royal, much like the original release, is absolutely fantastic. In our Persona 5 Royal review, Nic said
“Persona 5 Royal is a stunning game that takes something which has already captured millions of hearts, and makes it even better. This is the quintessential Persona experience. If you’re new to the franchise, this game is for you. If you’re a seasoned veteran, there is enough new and improved content that this game is still for you.”
We awarded it a stunning 10/10.
What will be interesting is if these mainline game ports to Xbox are followed by some of the many spin-offs to this spin-off series. There have been multiple offshoots including beat ’em up, Persona 4 Arena, a rhythm action game, Persona 4: Dancing All Night, and a Dynasty Warriors style RPG, Persona 5 Strikers. Still, let’s not be too picky before the main games have even arrived!
