Persona 5 Tactica Was Briefly Made Playable a Week Early on Steam, Following an Apparent Error

An apparent mistake saw the PC version of Persona 5 Tactica made briefly playable on Steam yesterday, a week prior to its planned November 17 launch.

Around 10am EST yesterday a handful of eagle-eyed Steam users took to social media to report that Persona 5 Tactica had seemingly become available to install, with users later claiming they were able to play the opening section of the game. Others who had wishlisted the game on Steam reported receiving emails notifying them that the title had been released.

According to the third-party metrics tracker SteamDB, a meagre three players were able to download the title and get it playing in the roughly 20-minute window before developer Atlus and publisher Sega took action to correct the unfortunate mistake, and revoke access.

Persona 5 Tactica has been released early on Steam by accident, I’m playing the game right now pic.twitter.com/OcSVbOrg3H

— Faz (@ScrambledFaz) November 8, 2023

At this point, another accident seemed to occur, with Persona 5 Tactica’s Steam page cycling through a number of dates – going back as far as January 1, 1970 – before finally settling on November 17. Of course, having the game out in the wild, no matter how briefly, heightens the risk of spoilers, so be sure to remain vigilant in the runup to Persona 5 Tactica’s launch.

The incident follows on the heels of a faux pas from earlier in the year which saw Atlus West accidentally leak both Persona 3 Reload and Persona 5 Tactica on the developer’s official Instagram account days before the title’s official reveal at the June Xbox Games Showcase.

Persona 5 Tactica is set to feature grid-based combat paired with a stylized chibi aesthetic, and will follow a brand new story, which will see Persona 5’s Phantom Thieves transported to a strange new reality in which the people live in fear of their tyrannical rulers.

Anthony is a freelance contributor covering science and video gaming news for IGN. He has over eight years experience of covering breaking developments in multiple scientific fields and absolutely no time for your shenanigans. Follow him on Twitter @BeardConGamer