Atlus producer Kazuhisa Wada says he personally thinks Persona 1 and Persona 2 remakes are something the studio has to do, but no project has been announced.
Image: gamesradar.com
Atlus has opened the door without announcing the game
Persona series producer Kazuhisa Wada has given the clearest public encouragement yet for fans hoping Atlus will revisit the earliest Persona games. Speaking to GamerBraves in an interview about Persona 4 Revival, Wada was asked about remaking Persona 1 and Persona 2. His answer, as quoted by Push Square and GamesRadar, was carefully framed but unusually direct: “At this point, I can’t say for sure, but personally, I think it’s something we should definitely do. I think we have to do it.”
That is the concrete development. A senior Persona figure has said, on the record, that he personally believes Atlus should remake the first two entries. The tension is equally important: Atlus has not announced a Persona 1 remake, a Persona 2 remake, platforms, a release window, a price, or even whether these would be remakes rather than remasters.
For a series that now has Persona 3 Reload, Persona 4 Revival, Persona 5 Royal, and an announced Persona 6 in public view, Wada’s comment lands differently from a routine “we hear the fans” response. It does not confirm a production schedule. It does, however, put the neglected beginning of the series back into the same conversation as Atlus’s active remake and revival strategy.
What Wada actually said, and where the certainty stops
The useful reading of Wada’s comment begins with its qualifiers. “At this point, I can’t say for sure” is the part fans should keep attached to every excited repost. It means Atlus is not ready to confirm anything, and it leaves open several possibilities: the projects may not be greenlit, may be in internal discussion, may be dependent on other production priorities, or may simply be something Wada wants to see happen.
The second half of the quote is why the story has momentum. “Personally, I think it’s something we should definitely do” and “I think we have to do it” are stronger than a noncommittal corporate answer, especially from someone identified by GamesRadar as Persona 4 Revival producer and a Persona series veteran. Push Square similarly frames Wada as a high-ranking figure whose response gives fans “serious hope.”
The safest conclusion is narrower than the current fan chatter: Persona 1 and Persona 2 remakes sound more plausible because a senior Atlus producer publicly endorsed the idea. They are still unannounced. Treating this as a confirmed Persona remakes rumor would go beyond the available evidence.
Why Persona 1 and Persona 2 remain the series outliers
The reason these games inspire so much uncertainty is built into the series’s own evolution. Push Square notes that Persona’s popularity has exploded over the last decade, while the original Persona and Persona 2 have been overlooked as Atlus continues to promote the worlds and casts of Persona 3, Persona 4, and Persona 5. The outlet also points out the core design gap: Persona 1 and Persona 2 are older RPGs and lack much of what the franchise is now known for.
That matters because modern Persona is widely understood through the shape established by the later entries. IGN recommends Persona 3 Reload, Persona 4 Golden, and Persona 5 Royal as strong starting points for newcomers, explaining that the later mainline games tell largely disconnected stories with original characters. Those games are also the versions most visible to today’s audience through modern releases, expanded editions, and remakes.
Persona 1 and Persona 2 sit before that modern identity fully settled. For players who came in through social links, calendar pressure, party bonding, polished dungeon loops, and the rhythm of school life against supernatural escalation, the earliest Persona games are historical roots rather than familiar templates. That makes them valuable, but it also makes the remake question harder. A straightforward preservation release would serve one audience. A full remake designed for the Persona 3 to Persona 5 crowd would require Atlus to decide how much of the old structure to keep.
Atlus is already rebuilding the middle of the series
Wada’s comment also arrives during an especially remake-heavy Persona period. PC Gamer points to the current density around Persona 3, citing the Persona 3 Portable port, the Persona 3 remake, and Episode Aigis DLC. IGN’s Persona timeline guide also highlights the official announcement of Persona 4 Revival and Persona 6, positioning both as part of the series’s current future-facing slate.
That gives the Persona 1 and Persona 2 question a business context. Atlus is not acting as if its older catalog is off-limits. It has already shown a willingness to repackage, expand, and rebuild parts of the franchise that became major entry points for modern players. The unresolved issue is where the pre-Persona 3 games fit inside that strategy.
A Persona 4 Revival project is a cleaner proposition for the current audience because Persona 4 Golden is already part of the modern Persona lineage. Persona 1 and Persona 2 would ask a different set of production questions. Do they become faithful reconstructions with quality-of-life improvements, as Push Square suggests could help the older games shine again? Or do they become more aggressive reinterpretations shaped by expectations formed by Persona 3 Reload, Persona 4 Golden, and Persona 5 Royal? Atlus has not said.
The merchandise trail is suggestive, not evidence of a remake
One reason fans were primed for Wada’s answer is that Persona 1 and Persona 2 had already reappeared in a different official context. Push Square reported in April that official listings for Persona 1 and Persona 2 merchandise seemed “especially suspicious,” while also noting that Atlus has turned to classic Persona entries for merchandising.
That is a signal worth remembering, but it should not be inflated. Merchandise can show that Atlus still sees value in characters, logos, art, or anniversaries tied to older games. It does not prove that a development team is rebuilding those games, that production has started, or that a release plan exists.
The stronger source is Wada’s interview comment, because it directly addresses the remake question. Even there, the dividing line remains firm. Confirmed: Wada said he personally thinks Atlus should do Persona 1 and Persona 2 remakes. Unconfirmed: whether Atlus has approved them, whether they are in active development, whether they would launch before or after Persona 6, and whether they would come to PlayStation, Xbox, PC, Switch, or a future Nintendo platform.
Remake, remaster, or revival would each solve a different problem
Fans often use “remake” as a catch-all, but for Persona 1 and Persona 2 the format would define the project. Push Square mentions that hardcore fans have asked for potential remakes or remasters, and that the older games could benefit from reworking and quality-of-life improvements. Those are very different scopes.
A remaster would likely be read as preservation first. It would make older entries easier to access, potentially with cleaner presentation and modern conveniences, while leaving the core design closer to its original form. That would serve players who want to understand the series’s origins without Atlus rewriting them to fit later expectations.
A full Persona 1 remake or Persona 2 remake would carry a heavier design burden. The early games are important because they come from a different era of Atlus RPG design. Rebuilding them for today’s Persona audience would raise questions around pacing, combat flow, user interface, dungeon friction, and how much modern Persona structure belongs in stories that were not originally built around the later formula. As an RPG player, that is the key creative risk: modernizing progression can make a classic more playable, but overcorrecting can flatten the qualities that made it distinct.
Atlus has not described any intended approach. Until it does, “Persona remakes rumor” is best treated as a conversation around Wada’s stated interest, not a leaked feature list.
How fans should read the news now
If you are waiting specifically for Persona 1 or Persona 2 to return, there is nothing to preorder and no official platform list to plan around. No release timing has been announced. No price has been announced. No upgrade path, collection format, or edition structure has been announced.
If you are new to the series and wondering whether to wait, the available guidance points elsewhere for now. IGN recommends Persona 3 Reload, Persona 4 Golden, and Persona 5 Royal as accessible starting points, noting that the later entries largely tell separate stories with original casts. IGN also states that Persona 4 Golden and Persona 5 Royal are available across PC and major consoles, while Persona 3 Reload is the exception for Nintendo Switch availability.
For long-time fans, Wada’s comment is still meaningful Persona series news. It suggests the earliest games are no longer invisible inside Atlus’s public conversation. But the responsible read is patience. Persona 1 and Persona 2 remakes now sound more likely than they did before Wada spoke to GamerBraves. They are not official until Atlus says they are.