Summary
Physical copies ofPersona 3 Reloadstarted shipping early to some lucky gamers on January 22. The much-anticipatedremake of the third mainlinePersonagameisn’t scheduled to release for almost two more weeks.
Premature game shipments are a fairly common occurrence. While major publishers often incorporate severe penalties for breaking street dates into their contracts with distributors, accidental mishaps still happen on a regular basis. The most high-profile recent example of such a mistake dates back to last spring, whenearly copies ofThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomappeared in the wild weeks ahead of the game’s mid-May release.
History repeats itself yet again withPersona 3 Reload, which already found its way to some lucky gamers who pre-ordered it. Multiple people took to social media on January 22 to post images of their prematurely shipped copies, with each of them expressing their excitement at being able to play the highly-anticipated RPG 11 days early.
All of the images that have surfaced online so far depict the PS5 copy of the game’s standard edition, which comes without thePersona 3 Reloadday-one DLC. However, this development does raise the likelihood of the PS4 and Xbox versions of the RPG already being out in the wild as well. None of the lucky gamers who got an early copy ofPersona 3 Reloadhave divulged the retailer(s) responsible for their shipment. However, one of them has explicitly claimed they have no special relationship with the store that sent them the game prematurely, suggesting that this early release was indeed a happy accident.
Fans hoping to experience the upcoming remake spoiler-free should consider this turn of events a signal to avoid social media until February 2. Namely,some peopleare already streamingPersona 3 Reloadas of January 22, so there is a good chance that places like Twitter and YouTube will be full of spoilers in the day ahead. Twitch, for its part, is currently cracking down on such early broadcasts in its typically aggressive manner, so it should be safe to keep visiting.
The latest entry inthePersonafranchise,Persona 5 Tactica, was also treated to a premature release. But the circumstances of that happening were a bit more unusual, as Sega itself accidentally released the game via Steam nine days early, on June 26, 2025. While the misstep was corrected within half an hour, some players managed to keep playing the SRPG by keeping their Steam client offline after preloading the game during that brief window of opportunity.
Persona 3 Reload
WHERE TO PLAY
Step into the shoes of a transfer student thrust into an unexpected fate when entering the hour “hidden” between one day and the next. Awaken an incredible power and chase the mysteries of the Dark Hour, fight for your friends, and leave a mark on their memories forever.Persona 3 Reload is a captivating reimagining of the genre-defining RPG, reborn for the modern era.Experience the pivotal game of the Persona series faithfully remade with cutting-edge graphics, modernized quality-of-life features, and signature stylish UI. Fully immerse yourself in an emotional, gripping journey with new scenes, character interactions, and additional voiceover. Choose how to meaningfully spend each day through various activities from exploring the Port Island to forging genuine bonds with beloved characters. Build and command your optimal team to take down otherworldly Shadows and climb closer to the truth.
