Atlus confirms Persona 5 Royal has no PS5 upgrade path

For PlayStation 4 players who own Persona 5 Royal and want a simple upgrade to their new system, developer Atlus confirmed that's not in the cards. In an FAQ on the game's Japanese website, Atlus said that PS4 owners will have to rebuy the PS5 version of Royal. 

For cross-generation games, developers have had to make individual calls on whether an older game should grant entitlements to its current generation version. Some games, such as Marvel's Avengers, made it as simple as transferring all players' content and data; others, like Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, have players pay an additional fee for the current version. Atlus has chosen the latter. 

"There are no products for purchasers of Persona 5 Royal for PlayStation 4," wrote Atlus in a translated post. "We would appreciate it if you bought Persona 5 Royal for PlayStation 5 when you play with PlayStation 5." 

Royal originally released in 2020 on PS4 as an enhanced version of 2017's critically-acclaimed Persona 5. The Royal version features improved graphics and additional gameplay features, along with a new Phantom Thief member named Kasumi Yoshizawa. Along with the PS5, Royal will be available on PC, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch on October 21. 

Following Royal's release, Atlus will release current generation versions of Persona 4 Golden--a 2012 enhanced version of the original 2008 Persona 4 game--and Persona 3 Portable, a 2010 enhanced version of 2006's Persona 3. Unlike Royal, however, Golden and Portable will be available on PC and all current generation systems except PS5. 

PlayStation's upgrade woes continue

The industry's handling of upgrading games from PS4 to PS5 has been notably difficult. Confusion has arisen in the past for the upgrade paths of specific games, such as Electronic Arts' disastrous handling of FIFA 22's Dual Entitlement program. Additionally, there's been unclear messaging in regards to physical PS4 editions being required to play digital PS5 copies. 

When Horizon Forbidden West released earlier this year, Sony enabled free upgrades from PS4 to PS5 after initially telling players they would have to buy one of the game's more expensive editions to get the PS5 upgrade. Though Sony reversed course on that, it confirmed its first-party games post-Forbidden West, such as Gran Turismo 7 and God of War Ragnarok, would require paying $10 for a PS5 upgrade.