Persona 3 Reload players have taken to Steam to express frustration at Atlus announcing a $35 expansion pass one month after promising the game is a "complete experience".
Persona 3 Reload's expansion pass has been dubbed a "cash grab" by some fans who spent as much as $200 on the Collector's Edition only to see more content announced just one month later. "Imagine buying a $100 Premium Edition and one month later you have to buy another $35 for what is just cut content," Hourai said in a Steam review. "Awful cash grab," added Zandig.
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).
Persona Team production manager Kazuhisa Wada insisted fans could buy Persona 3 Reload with confidence upon its February 2 launch, however, promising it "offers a complete experience". But on March 6, Atlus announced an expansion pass containing 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 game. Atlus itself calls this segment the "final chapter" of Persona 3 Reload.
The Steam reviews for Persona 3 Reload have taken a hit in response to the announcement of the expansion pass, the first wave of which (including the bonus tracks) arrives today, March 12. Just 2.98% of reviews were negative on launch compared to 39.22% today.
It's the specific expansion pass Steam page that has taken the brunt of frustration, however, as it currently has a "mostly negative" rating with just 21% 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. Wada assured the decision to remake the FES content was made after this, though certainly before he promised the base game was a "complete experience".
"Devs lie saying 'no FES content planned' yet this releases just over a month after initial release," said thatguyoverthere. "I am the problem. I bought this since it'll probably be fun, but I've spent about $60 in additional content for this game for things that should've been in there day one. I really hope this doesn't happen again with any Atlus or SEGA game."
Persona 3 Reload also has myriad pieces of downloadable content available at launch including costumes and additional music. IGN has asked Atlus for comment.
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.
