Persona 4 Arena Ultimaxlaunched in 2013. It was the fighting game thatPersonafans had wanted for a very long time, not only continuing the story ofPersona 4andPersona 4 Arenabut featuring fighters from bothPersona 3andPersona 4. It was successful enough that Atlus even released ports for PC, PS4, and Switch in 2022. But as an older game,Persona 4 Arena Ultimaxlacked certain online features expected of modern fighting games, like rollback netcode. It seems that’s about to change, however.
To kick off EVO 2022, wherePersona 4 Arena Ultimaxhas a side tournament, members of theArc System Worksdevelopment team and Atlus took the stage to make an announcement. In a new update,Persona 4 Arena Ultimaxhas received rollback netcode. The modern online multiplayer feature helps to create a much smoother competitive experience that helps manage lag in a fair way for both players.
RELATED:Persona 4 Arena Ultimax Gets New Trailer
There is a catch, unfortunately. Not every platform on whichPersona 4 Arena Ultimaxwill be receiving the update. Atlus has confirmed that only PC and PS4 will have access to the rollback netcode update. This isn’t a surprise, though.Atlus promised rollback netcode forPersona 4 Arena Ultimaxthis summer earlier in 2022. When it did, it made clear that it would only be available on PC and PS4.
The PC rollback netcode update forPersona 4 Arena Ultimaxalso isn’t fully available just yet, like it is on PS4. It is fully accessible, butPersona 4 Arena Ultimaxplayerswill have to opt into a beta version of the game to access it. To do so, Steam users will have to go into the game’s properties, find the betas second of the menu, and then enter the code “p4auopenbeta03”. This will add Open Beta 3 to the dropdown menu.
Rollback netcode is all but expected from fighting games released anymore. It’s somewhat odd that the 2022 ports of the game didn’t includerollback netcodeat launch, but that’s likely why Atlus felt the need to announce it was coming before the ports arrived.
The release of thePersona 4 Arena Ultimaxports on PC and PS4, as well as the rollback netcode update, should ensure that the fighting game remains viable for high-level competition for years to come. Or, at least, it’ll stay viable until Atlus is potentially able to deliver a sequel in the series, which fans are anxiously hoping for.
Persona 4 Arena Ultimaxis available now on PC, PS4, and Switch.
