Atlus isn't done digging through its own back catalog. Series producer Kazuhisa Wada has signaled that remakes of the first two Persona games are on the table, describing the effort as a matter of preservation in a new interview with Rock Paper Shotgun.
What Wada Actually Said
Asked about the studio's remake plans, Wada tied the work to a sense of responsibility. "For me, I think a remaster or remake is some kind of cultural preservation," he said, per a translator. He added that a creator's "duty" is to keep older games from being lost so they are "still around in the modern day." From that angle, he continued, "Persona 1 and 2 are something we'll probably eventually do too."
That's a soft commitment, not an announcement. But it lines up with the direction Atlus has been heading. Wada told RPS the team originally came up with the ideas to remake Persona 3 and Persona 4 around the same time, with the Persona 4 project pushed to the backburner before it eventually became the upcoming Persona 4 Revival, due next February. Persona 3 Reload arrived in 2024.
Why These Two Games Matter
Persona 1 and Persona 2 are the only mainline entries not readily available to buy on modern systems, which is what makes Wada's preservation point land harder here. The original, released as Persona (Revelations) on PlayStation in 1996, plays closer to the older Shin Megami Tensei games, with first-person dungeon crawling and isometric overworld exploration. It predates the social link system that later defined the series; that mechanic didn't show up until Persona 3.
Persona 2: Innocent Sin followed in 1999, swapping the first-person dungeons for third-person exploration. As Eurogamer notes, starting the remake campaign with Persona 3 made sense for another reason: the earlier games carry baggage, including Innocent Sin's rumor-fueled antagonist that would be tricky to depict today.
This also isn't the first time these projects have surfaced. A prominent Sega leaker previously claimed Persona 1 and 2 remakes were in the works alongside a then-unannounced Persona 4 remake, though the scope of those rumored versions was never clear.
The Case for Looking Sideways
PC Gamer, while welcoming the idea, argues Atlus has bigger preservation gaps elsewhere in its family of games. The outlet points to the PS2-era Shin Megami Tensei titles still locked to old hardware: Digital Devil Saga and its sequel, plus Shin Megami Tensei 4, which remains a Nintendo 3DS exclusive. Nocturne and SMT5 are on PC, and Raidou got a full remake last year, but chunks of the wider catalog stay stranded. Whether Atlus prioritizes Persona or its parent franchise is an open question.
What This Means for Players
For now, the concrete date on the calendar is Persona 4 Revival in February. Everything else is intent, not a release window. If you're tracking Atlus, treat Persona 1 and Persona 2 remakes as a likely long-term project rather than something to expect soon, and don't hold your breath for Persona 4 Revival to be immediately followed by a first-game announcement. The one firm takeaway: Atlus sees remaking its own history as an ongoing job, so the oldest Persona games are more "when" than "if."
