A revival of the Persona franchise for the foreseeable future may also encompass the forgotten origins of the iconic JRPG series. After Atlus’ huge success with Persona 3 Reloaded, the next modern remake, Persona 4 Revival, has been launched in February 2027, with the focus now on the first two series spin-offs from the 1990s. As P-Studio’s long-time producer Kazuhisa Wada confirmed in a recent interview, he considers a remake or remake of the Persona 1 and 2 duology (Innocence and Eternal Punishment) to be “a project that the studio may pursue at some point.” For him, new versions of these works are not only nostalgic projects, but also a form of “cultural preservation.”
The first two installments of Persona were originally released for the first-generation PlayStation, and their gameplay mechanics and tone differed significantly from the milestones that followed Persona 3. The lack of a popular social bonding system, changes to first-person dungeon crawling and a dark mystery atmosphere, as well as an outdated grid combat system have so far made it difficult for new players to get into the modern game. However, this is exactly what WADA sees as the obligation of development teams: classics must be ready for modern platforms so that the evolution of the series remains tangible for future generations.
Despite clear signals from third parties and internal supporters, management stressed the need for fans to remain patient. P-Studio’s schedule for the next few years is essentially full. In addition to completing Persona 4 Resurrection, the core team behind the scenes is primarily focused on developing next-generation consoles in the form of Persona 6. If a remake of the first two installments begins, release may not materialize until the main phase of the late 2020s.
Nonetheless, WADA’s announcement highlights a significant change in Atlus’ strategy. Rather than letting old trademarks gather dust in the archives, the Japanese publisher is taking advantage of the tailwinds of the current hardware generation to gradually modernize the series’ entire catalog and make it available to a global audience.
