Persona 3 Reload has Atlus’ biggest Steam launch

The members of S.E.E.S have outdone the Phantom Thieves of Heart, as Persona 3 Reload has Atlus’ biggest-ever launch on Steam within the space of a day.

It’s strange to think that Atlus & Sega were reticent to put the Persona series on multiple platforms. For years, they were restricted to PlayStation consoles, save for the occasional spin-off on Nintendo handheld systems.

Everything changed when Persona 4 Golden was ported to Steam and quickly became a huge hit on the platform. This prompted a series of Persona re-releases on modern systems, with Persona 3 – 5 becoming readily accessible to gamers across the world.

Rather than being a rerelease, the newly-released Persona 3 Reload is a full remake of the original, with new features and revamped visuals. And while it’s not coming to Nintendo Switch (at least not yet), it’s available on PC and other consoles.

Atlus

Persona 3 Reload is Atlus’ biggest launch on Steam

Persona 3 Reload has had an incredible start on Steam. According to SteamDB, the game has had Atlus’ biggest launch ever on the platform, beating out the highly acclaimed Persona 5 Royal, Persona 4 Golden, and Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster.

Within the space of a day, the game hit a peak player count of 42,112 and an online count of 39,842. These beat out Persona 5 Royal, which has a peak player count of 35,474 and an online count of 9,064.

Persona 3 Reload may have had such an amazing start because it’s the closest thing to a new mainline entry Steam has received. The other Persona titles are ports of existing games that are available on other platforms, while Persona 3 Reload is launching on PC at the same time as consoles.

Persona 3 Reload is verified for the Steam Deck, and the fact that it’s such a long game means that it’s ideal for portable play, which may have factored into the decision for people to purchase it on Steam rather than getting it through PC Game Pass.

It’s incredible to see the Persona series embraced outside of the console sphere. The franchise has produced some incredible RPGs, but many were locked to older systems for years. Thankfully, those days are over, and all can visit the revamped Velvet Room… except for Switch owners.