Persona 3 Reload publisher Atlus will not release the controversial Episode Aigis expansion by itself, meaning players have to buy it through the $35 expansion pass.
Speaking to Push Square, an Atlus spokesperson said “the three parts of the expansion pass will not be available separately, and only available as part of the full pass”. These three waves include more background music from Persona 4 Golden and Persona 5 Royal, additional costumes, and the Episode Aigis expansion, which included around 30 hours of extra content in the original Persona 3 which Reload remade.
While this poses no problem for Xbox Game Pass subscribers, who get the expansion pass free, those on PlayStation and PC will be required to purchase the full $35 pass to access any one piece of its contents. The expansion pass doesn’t include any of the downloadable content already released at launch, however, such as costumes and additional content.
The expansion pass has already proved controversial as Atlus announced it just one month after promising Persona 3 Reload is a “complete experience”. It then described Episode Aigis as the game’s “final chapter”.
Fans were originally concerned that Atlus would release the base game in 2024 and soon after announce an expanded edition, as it did with the original Persona 3 (with follow-ups called Portable and FES), plus Persona 4 (with Persona 4 Golden), and Persona 5 (with Persona 5 Royal), so the expansion pass was a tough pill to swallow for many.
Dubbed a “cash grab” by some who spent as much as $200 on the Collector’s Edition, fans took to Steam to make their frustration clear. The page for the expansion pass, wave one of which is already available, currently has a “mostly negative” rating with just 20% of its reviews being positive.
“People who bought the $100 Digital Premium Edition or $200 Aigis Edition should be entitled to this,” wrote Crazydog1435, referencing that most deluxe editions now come with the season pass included. “Love how this doesn’t come with any of the expensive editions,” said Timo654.
“Great game but this remake shouldn’t have been advertised as a Persona 3 remake without FES content just for this to be announced a month later for such an egregious price and not included in the big versions we’ve already bought,” said Photo.
Persona 3 Reload producer Ryota Niitsuma said upon its announcement that Atlus “wanted to really genuinely work on recreating the Persona 3 experience” so wouldn’t be remaking the extra content from FES or Portable. Persona Team production manager Kazuhisa Wada assured the decision to remake the FES content was made after this, though it certainly came before he promised the base game was a “complete experience”.
Persona 3 Reload is available on PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X and S, and PC. A Nintendo Switch version hasn’t been announced so far, though Persona 3 Reload’s director Takuya Yamaguchi has said it’s not out of the question.
In our 9/10 review, IGN said: “With a stellar visual overhaul and countless small but impactful changes, Persona 3 Reload tells a timeless story of tragedy and hope with sharp emotional sincerity.”
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
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