PS2 Game From 2003 Is Officially Getting a New Release in September
A PS2 game from 2003 — and a very niche and random one at that — is officially getting a new release in September. More specifically, the PS2 game is poised to return on September 4, but not via the PS4 or PS5, but via PC, courtesy of Steam. The game in question was notably never released on PS2 outside of Japan, and only ever got an English release via DVD. Yes, via DVD. This new release will be outside of Japan and have English support, so this is the first time many gamers in the West will be able to get their hands on the game.
In 2000, developer Nitroplus specifically released an adult visual novel game by the name of Phantom of Inferno for PC. In 2001, the game was released in DVD format, but only in Japan. The PC release was only in Japan as well. Then this DVD release came to the United States in 2002. After this, the game went dormant until 2012, when a remake was made, and made for Xbox 360 of all platforms. Again, it was Japan-only. Then in 2013, this remake came to PC, and again it was Japan only. Now this PC remake version is getting released on Steam for the first time on September 4 under the name Phantom: Phantom of Inferno Nitro Archive. It’s unclear why Phantom is in the title twice, but it is.
A Forgotten Visual Novel
For those just learning about this game, it is a choose-your-own-adventure visual novel game. In 2026, visual novels are arguably as big as they ever have been, but around the turn of the century they were also quite popular, mostly on Sega consoles, though the PS1 and PS2 had their fair share of them as well.
As for the game, it picks up following a string of assassinations targeting various mafia leaders. As a result, the criminal underworld has been rocked and forever changed. The organization responsible for this is said to be a mysterious entity known as Inferno, featuring the world’s deadliest assassin, Phantom. This is the backdrop. The story really revolves around a teenage boy on a solo trip in the United States, where he meets Phantom, learning they are a girl about his age. He is taken in by Phantom and the Inferno organization, stripped of his memories, and trained to be an assassin equal to her. Both eventually find themselves in a conspiracy bigger than anyone can imagine.
The game is not very accessible in 2026, but it’s understood to have held up pretty well, which isn’t uncommon for visual novels, as they age better than most genres. The original was quite popular, but only in Japan. Nitroplus, now known as Nitro Origin, seems to think there is an audience in the West as well.
The timing of this new release is interesting only because this week a remaster of a 2005 PS2 visual novel got a surprise new release. Incidentally, this previous release from earlier in the week was for an equally niche game.