Persona 3 Reload is the series' biggest Steam launch ever, but there's still no critical consensus on which version of the JRPG is best

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Reload just hit 42,112 concurrent players

Persona 3 Reload
(Image credit: Atlus)

Persona 3 Reload is the series' biggest-ever Steam launch, but questions remains over which version is actually the 'definitive' version of the Atlus RPG.

The Atlus remake only just launched earlier today, February 2, but it looks like a certified hit on Steam already. Boasting a huge 42,112 peak concurrent players over the last 24 hours according to SteamDB, Persona 3 Reload is by far the Persona series' biggest-ever launch on Steam.

The previous record-holder for the biggest-ever Persona launch on the Valve storefront was, pretty unsurprisingly, Persona 5 Royal, which peaked at a concurrent player count of 35,474, according to SteamDB. Next in the rankings is Persona 4 Golden, which had a peak player count of 29,984 players, also judging by SteamDB.

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However, Persona 3 fans are struggling to work out which version of the Atlus game is actually the 'definitive' version, and Metacritic isn't helping. According to a Reddit post, Persona 3 FES, Persona 3 Portable, and Persona 3 Reload are all sat at an excellent 89 overall score on Metacritic.

That might be a great score, but it isn't helping Persona 3 fans to deduce which version of the game can be recommended to newcomers. The three aforementioned games are the three re-releases Persona 3 has had over the years, and each offers unique content: FES has The Answer epilogue chapter, Portable has its female protagonist, and Reload has its shiny new graphics and modern gameplay adjustments.

Admittedly, this would probably be a lot easier if Persona 3 Reload included the beloved female protagonist from Portable. Fans were pretty gutted before launch, when Atlus revealed that the female protagonist wouldn't be included in the remake, because Reload is specifically a remake of the original Persona 3, and not Portable or FES. Persona 3 fans have always been divided over which version of the game to recommend, and Reload hasn't provided a clear answer.

Check out our big Persona 3 Reload interview for a deep dive into why Atlus knew it had to make changes to Tartarus. 

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer
Freelance Writer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.