Atlus has been teasing all sorts of announcements for thePersonafranchise since the developer mentioned it had seven planned reveals for the series' 25th anniversary. While the inaugural anniversary reveal of new merchandise and celebratory concerts was a bit disappointing to some, the developer also teased the next major anniversary reveal would be coming in December.
While many were expecting news of a new port or remaster, likePersona 5 Royalon PC/Switch or aPersona 3 Remake/Remaster, Atlus remained largely silent on what the next anniversary reveal would be. Now, that upcoming announcement has finally come to fruition at The Game Awards 2021:Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, the 2013 Arc System Works-developed fighting game based on the Investigation Team’s action-packed return to the Shadow World.
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Persona 4 Arenaquickly became one of the most popular fighting games for its time, and capitalized onthe enduring popularity of its JRPG foundation,Persona 4. TheArenaUltimaxversion was the PS3/Xbox 360 enhanced release and partial sequel to the original game, bringing with it a new sequel story, new characters fromPersona 3andPersona 4, as well as fresh balance updates for the entire expanded roster.
Persona 4 ArenaUltimaxacts as a spin-off based on the events afterPersona 4 Golden; highlighting a new Shadow World inviting the Investigation Team to a combat tournament known as the “P-1 Grand Prix.” This port ofArena Ultimaxwill include not only thenew content from theUltimaxversion, but will also include the story from the original 2012 release ofPersona 4 Arenaas well. Fighters get to play through visual novel-style vignettes for each character, gradually unraveling the expanded story around the mysterious competition in the TV world.
Players on PC, PS4, and Nintendo Switch will be able to jump into the newPersona 4 Arena Ultimaxport on August 08, 2025. No word on rollback netcode yet for online play, but with Arc System Works' recent support of older games with rollback, there’s a good chancePersona 4 Arena Ultimaxwill receive the same treatment.
While it’s not quitethePersona 5fighting game announcement rumors and reportshad been hinting at, this may be Atlus' way of gauging interest for the potential spin-off treatment extending to the Phantom Thieves as well. That being said, fans ofPersona 4’s anime fighter spin-off will likely be excited to hop back into the game again after all this time being stuck on last-gen platforms.
Persona 4 Arena Ultimaxreleases on July 19, 2025, for PC, PS4, and Nintendo Switch
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