Metaphor: ReFantazio, New RPG From Persona Team, Gets October Release Date

Metaphor: ReFantazio, the new RPG from the team behind Persona 5 among other RPGs, officially has a release date. In a special showcase airing Monday, Atlus revealed that Metaphor will be released on October 11, placing it squarely during the holidays.

The release date was revealed during a 25-minute showcase hosted by director Katsura Hashino, who showed off gameplay, music, and other elements. It offers a preview of what Persona fans can expect from Hashino’s latest project, which bears some resemblance to Persona 5 but is in other ways very different.

Unlike Persona, which seeks to capture the feeling of being in a Japanese high school, Metaphor is a much more sophisticated fantasy adventure. It retains several elements of the Persona series, including turn-based combat and the passage of time, but reinvents them. For example, instead of a school year that advances day by day, Metaphor is more of a fantasy roadtrip.

It’s a little hard to describe, but the trailer above should give you an idea of ​​what to expect. One way or another, expect Metaphor to feature the same memorable art and music that made the Persona games so famous.

Hashino has been working on Metaphor since at least 2017, when he left P-Studio to create Studio Zero with the intention of working on new IP. He was joined by composer Shoji Meguro and artist Shigenori Soejima, among others, all of whom helped shape the Persona series. Metaphor debuted at the Xbox Game Showcase in 2023, with Atlus steadily revealing more details in the months since.

Metaphor: ReFantazio will be available on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC when it releases later this year. In the meantime, Xbox is hosting an ID@Xbox showcase next week, which will be featured exclusively here on IGN.

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly listed Metaphor as an Xbox exclusive. IGN regrets the error.

Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Do you have any advice? Send him a DM at @the_katbot.