Persona 3 Reload
Modern remake of Persona 3 (Atlus + Sega, Feb 2, 2024 PS4/PS5/Xbox/PC/Game Pass) — story of Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad (SEES) fighting Shadows during the Dark Hour. Rebuilt with Persona 5-style UI + modernised gameplay. 1M+ units in first week.
What is Persona 3 Reload?
Persona 3 Reload is the modern remake of Persona 3 (originally 2006 PS2) — developed by Atlus P-Studio + published by Sega. Released February 2, 2024 for PS4/PS5, Xbox One/Series X|S, PC (Steam + Microsoft Store), and Xbox Game Pass day one. Story follows the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad (SEES) — high-school student team fighting supernatural Shadows during the hidden 'Dark Hour' between midnight + 1 AM. Uses Personas (mythological beings summoned via Evokers) to battle Shadows within Tartarus tower. Rebuilds original P3 with Persona 5-style UI + modernised gameplay: Baton Pass, Theurgy signature moves per character, revamped Tartarus, expanded social links. Retains original P3 story unchanged (unlike previous P3 FES/Portable versions). Does NOT include The Answer expansion (later added as paid DLC 'Episode Aigis'). Reached 1M+ units in first week, Atlus's fastest-selling game ever.
Quick facts
Category
Video Games
Type
Individual
Players
1–1
Duration
~60 min
Where played
indoor
Country of origin
🇯🇵 Japan
Estimated origin
Released Feb 2, 2024; Episode Aigis DLC Sep 10, 2024
Olympic
No
Popularity
major
How it works
Objective
Guide the Protagonist + SEES team through Dark Hour battles + calendar year toward final confrontation with Nyx.
Match structure
Single-player calendar-based JRPG — social sim by day + Tartarus dungeon crawl by night (Dark Hour).
Rules
Basic rules
Calendar-based sim + dungeon
Choose daily activities (social links, school, part-time work); at night enter Tartarus for Persona battles.
Persona summoning via Evoker
Characters shoot themselves in head with Evoker (symbolic) to summon Persona.
Turn-based combat with weakness targeting
1 More extra turn on weakness hit or crit.
Advanced rules
Baton Pass
New in Reload — pass extra turn to ally after successful weakness hit.
Theurgy signature attacks
Character-specific super attacks charged via specific actions.
Persona fusion in Velvet Room
Fuse existing Personas into new ones; carry-over skills strategy.
Scoring
Story completion + social links maxed (S-Link Rank 10) + Persona compendium + Tartarus floors + final boss defeat.
| Action | Points |
|---|---|
| Story completion | Credits + True Ending |
Win condition · Complete story (calendar year to Nyx battle); 100% = all S-Links + all Personas + all Tartarus floors + Episode Aigis DLC.
Equipment
PS4/PS5, Xbox One/Series, PC, Game Pass
Cross-platform; day-one Xbox Game Pass inclusion.
Standard controller or M+KB (PC)
Turn-based combat playable with any input.
Positions & roles
Protagonist + SEES party (Yukari, Junpei, Akihiko, Mitsuru, Fuuka, Aigis, Ken, Koromaru, Shinjiro)
×410 total party members across story.
Officiating
Single-player only.
- Speedrun.com moderators
Penalties & fouls
Penalties
Game Over (all HP 0)
Reload autosave; Reload adds more autosaves than original P3.
Missed social link rank
Can miss maxing S-Link if calendar days used inefficiently — plan calendar carefully.
Strategies
Calendar optimisation for max S-Links
Plan calendar days for S-Link maxing before Nyx battle; use S-Link fusion bonus.
Weakness + Baton Pass chain
Chain weakness hits with Baton Pass for All-Out Attack setups.
Persona fusion sniping
Fuse specific Personas at higher social link ranks for maximum XP + skill inheritance.
Terminology
- SEES
- Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad
- Dark Hour
- Hidden 25th hour between midnight + 1 AM
- Evoker
- Persona-summoning gun
- Tartarus
- Procedural tower dungeon
- S-Link
- Social Link relationship progression
- Theurgy
- Character signature super attack
Major competitions
Speedrun.com Persona 3 Reload leaderboards
ongoing · global (community) · since 2024
Where it is played
Governing bodies
Sega Sammy Holdings
Founded 1960 · Tokyo, Japan
Atlus P-Studio
Founded 1986 · Tokyo, Japan
Famous names & records
Famous athletes
- Community speedrunners establishing Any% + True Ending leaderboards
Records
Atlus's fastest-selling game
Atlus / Sega — 1M+ units in first week — Atlus's fastest-selling title ever (2024)
Episode Aigis DLC
Atlus — Paid DLC adding The Answer epilogue expansion (Sep 10, 2024) (2024)
Day-one Xbox Game Pass release
Sega + Microsoft — First mainline Persona to launch day-one on Game Pass (2024)
Learn this sport
beginner
- 1
First month (April) intro
Learn calendar sim + Tartarus combat basics.
intermediate
- 1
Full year + all S-Links
Max all social links + complete Tartarus.
advanced
- 1
Episode Aigis DLC + speedrun
The Answer post-story + Any% speedruns.
Frequently asked
Do I need to play prior Persona games?+
No — Reload is standalone remake of P3 (2006). No prior knowledge needed. Follow-up P3 FES + P3P are older/alternative versions.
Does Reload include The Answer?+
Not in base game — added as paid DLC 'Episode Aigis' September 10, 2024.
Sources & provenance
- Wikipedia — Persona 3 Reload— Wikipedia