It was released for the PlayStation Vita in Japan in June 2016, and by Atlus USA in North America and Europe in May 2017.

The main protagonist is one of the group who realizes that they are in a virtual world, and ally with the former keeper of Mobius, "Aria" to form the "Go-Home Club", a group dedicated to escaping from Mobius and its god-like overseer program, a vocal program called "μ".

The music was written by former Megami Tensei series composer Tsukasa Masuko, and the theme song is performed by a three-person group: Eriko Nakamura, Emi Nitta and Yuka Ōtsubo.

[3][5] The characters were said to violate a variety of taboos, with Satomi specifically creating one that the team were initially wanting to avoid.

The title stems from the psychological term "Caligula effect", referring to the want to see and do prohibited things.

[9] Initially, Atlus USA did not rule out a physical release of The Caligula Effect through Limited Run Games,[10] but eventually decided against it.

[13] The remake, developed by the studio Historia using Unreal Engine 4, features upgraded visuals and gameplay, a new playable female protagonist, new endings, and more supporting characters.

[23] The remake fared better among reviewers, with Famitsu giving it with a higher 33 out of 40 score, consisting of ratings from four critics who individually gave it 9/8/8/8.