It finally happened: Persona 4 Revival was announced during the June 2025 Xbox Games Showcase. The highly-anticipated Persona 4 remake will bring players back to the town of Inaba and the depths of the Midnight Channel, providing them with improved graphics for a renewed gameplay experience.
Similar to Persona 3 Reload, Persona 4 Revival was developed using Persona 5's graphics and tech. This is mostly seen in the game's character and environmental design, as well as the exploration around Inaba, which is much more immersive compared to the original version. Given that Persona 4 Revival is officially "modernized" with updated graphics, this also paints a picture of what fans can expect in the next remake project in the next few years, which could potentially be a new version of Persona 5.
The Case for a Persona 4 Remake to Be Less 'Faithful' Than P3R
A Persona 4 remake has more to gain by evolving beyond strict faithfulness and offering a fresher, bolder take than Persona 3 Reload.
The Potential Persona 5 Remake Could Have a Promising Future Ahead
When Persona 5 was first released in 2016, many fans immediately saw the vast difference compared to the previous game's overall design. From the menu screen to the vibrant combat sequences, Persona 5 sets the bar high for immersive JRPGs, as players control the Phantom Thieves as they navigate both Tokyo and the Metaverse to "steal" the hearts of people who abuse their power. The game's distinct UI and UX design has now become the standard for Persona's recent remakes, Persona 3 Reload and now, Persona 4 Revival. Fans can also see signs of it in Atlus' latest projects, such as Metaphor: ReFantazio.
Almost a decade later, Persona 5's momentum is still going strong and has branched out into a number of spin-offs, such as Persona 5 Strikers, Persona 5 Tactica, and the newest gacha game, Persona 5: The Phantom X. The latter is set in an alternate universe, and it features a new batch of Phantom Thieves led by Wonder. It might be a while before Persona 5 receives its own remake, but when it does, it will likely be built with the tech that Atlus would use in the rumored Persona 6.
It's been rumored that Persona 6 is currently in development, but Atlus has yet to officially confirm its release date. Information is still scarce about Persona 6's plot, characters, and potential new gameplay mechanics, and there are speculations that it might come out in 2026. Rumors also indicate that Persona 6 might have two protagonists, with fans hoping that one of them is a female lead, especially after Atlus didn't include the "FeMC" (female main character) in Persona 3 Reload. In terms of design, many fans have speculated that Atlus and P-Studio might abandon their in-house engine and use Unreal Engine 5 for Persona 6, possibly to give it a more realistic vibe. While this isn't confirmed yet, it's also possible that the studios might come out with a brand-new in-house engine that's specifically designed for the sixth game, similar to what they did for Persona 5.
Whatever the engine will be, Persona 6's advanced graphics and tech would be good news for the eventual Persona 5 remake. The only caveat is that it might take a significant amount of time before the remake comes out. Atlus and P-Studio took over a decade to remake Persona 3 and Persona 4 using their modern engine, so it's possible that Persona 5 might have the same timeframe to be redesigned with Persona 6's engine. Likewise, the studios will have to check the pulse of fans' reception to the improved graphics to see if they will work for future remakes.
It's going to be a long wait, but the great thing is that Persona 5 and its spin-offs have the potential to stand the test of time as long as they are still accessible to modern gaming platforms. Once it's time for a Persona 5 remake to come out, hopefully Persona 6's overall design and experience will be worth it.
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- Genre(s)
- JRPG, Simulation, Adventure
