Persona 5 spinoff adding Persona 3 Reload's most requested feature

Jul 02, 2026 - 19:09

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Persona 5 spinoff adding Persona 3 Reload's most requested feature

Published Jul 2, 2026, 10:12 AM EDT

Welcome back, Kotone Shiomi

The two Persona 3 protagonists with Elizabeth and Theodore behind them

Atlus is finally bringing Persona 3 Portable's female protagonist to a modern Persona game. It's just not the one fans expected. While the character was conspicuously absent from 2024's Persona 3 Reload, a remake of the original 2006 RPG, she will now appear in an upcoming collaboration with mobile title Persona 5: The Phantom X.

Atlus announced the Persona 5: The Phantom X x Persona 3 Portable collab on the game's official channels on Thursday. The announcement essentially boils down to "it's happening." No details have been announced about when the character, who will use the canonical name Kotone Shiomi, will be available or for how long.

The mobile gacha RPG Persona 5: The Phantom X was released in June 2025. It takes place in the same setting as the extended Persona 5 series but follows a new cast of characters, unlocking new powers and entering palaces within a distorted version of reality called the Metaverse (not to be confused with the other metaverse). P5X replicates much of the main series' gameplay loop of balancing dungeon exploration with real-world responsibilities like school and part-time jobs. As a gacha game, a large part of the experience revolves around collecting resources, with either in-game or real-world currency, that let players "pull" for new characters. The current cast of available characters includes original creations for P5X, familiar faces from across the Persona franchise, and cross-over characters like vocaloid Hatsune Miku.

Kotone Shiomi debuted in Persona 3 Portable, the handheld version of the RPG released in 2009 for the PlayStation Portable. Shiomi's writing and unique approach to situations throughout the game set her apart from the male protagonist and has earned her a devoted fan-base. Persona 3 Reload omitted her, as Atlus originally stated the remake would only cover content from the original release of Persona 3. Other elements from P3P, such as the Aigis social link, did appear in Reload. Atlus also released the "Episode Aigis" DLC, which remade the FES version's exclusive "The Answer" epilogue. Reload's most glaring omission remains the female protagonist; while she may never be added to Reload, she will now appear in Persona 5: The Phantom X.

Persona 5: The Phantom X is available on Android, iOS, and Windows PC.