Footage from an unannounced remake of the first Persona game appears to have leaked online, as Atlus looks to re-do the whole series.
Ever since the massive success of Persona 5, developer Atlus has worked to bring older games in the series to the masses via updated remakes. This began with 2024’s Persona 3 Reload, and continues with Persona 4: Revival next year. Sega hasn’t announced anything yet, but there’s been a question of whether Atlus will give the same treatment to the first three games (the original 1996 game, plus the first sequel and its direct follow-up Eternal Punishment).
Leaked gameplay and protagonist details
Based on a newly leaked gameplay trailer, it seems the developer could be cooking up a do-over of the very first entry, originally called Revelations: Persona, which likely means the two sequels will follow suit as well. The footage, which has been circulating on Reddit and YouTube, shows off gameplay set inside a hospital. It isn’t cut together like a trailer though, and shows long stretches of battle gameplay with a revamped user interface.
Weirdly, the protagonist from Persona 2, Tatsuya Suou, is involved in the battle. However, the lead character is ‘boy with earring’ – the unnamed protagonist from The Revelations: Persona.
Doubts over legitimacy and timeline
It’s unclear if the footage is legitimate. Atlus hasn’t issued any takedown notices, which suggests it could be fake, but others have speculated it could be an early internal pitch video. Alternatively, it could be AI trickery, but it’s worryingly detailed and impressive if that’s the case.
It is earlier than you might have expected to see a remake of the first game, considering Atlus is spinning many plates already. Persona 4: Revival is set to come out on February 18, 2027 and Persona 6 is still yet to get a proper reveal trailer. There’s even the possibility of a sequel to Metaphor: ReFantazio, which might be a bigger priority at the studio over another remake. However, if it is just test footage or intended for an internal pitch, not meant to be seen by the public, that could mean it is still several years away from release, given how long games take to make nowadays.
Producer comments and anniversary collaboration
Persona 4: Revival producer Kazuhisa Wada has said recently that he believes Atlus should ‘definitely’ do remakes of the original games, so in that sense it’s not necessarily a surprise. Speaking in an interview with Gamer Braves, when asked about the possibility of Persona and Persona 2 remakes, Wada replied: ‘At this point, I can’t say for sure. But personally, I think it’s something we should definitely do. I think we have to do it.’
Additionally, a recently announced collaboration for Persona’s 30th anniversary has added fuel to the fire. A Japanese merchandise manufacturer named Algernon Product, prior to the video leak, debuted a ‘P30th’ team-up with illustrator Kei Mochizuki on X, which features art that’s somewhat reminiscent of the original Persona protagonist’s new look in the leaked footage. Of course, this might be all clutching at straws, but it’s still a promising indication that Atlus has some desire to return to the original games eventually.
Revelations: Persona, which sometimes carries the subtitle Be Your True Mind, was pitched as a new subseries of the Megami Tensei franchise. It was released on the original PlayStation in 1996 in Japan and North America, but only came to Europe via a PSP re-release in 2009.
