With the New Game+ Expo beginning soon, and a rumor stating that Atlus is preparing a rather huge announcement, it seemsPersona’s next big entry may be unveiled soon. If that’s true, it may be fans' first glimpse intoPersona 6, or whatever’s next for the series. There are severalPersona 5spin-off titles supposedly in development as well, plusPersona 5 Scramblehasn’t been localized for the west yet.
Now thatPersona 5has set a precedent for the series going forward, and Atlus isn’t undergoing any financial issues affecting development, the wait for the nextPersonagame shouldn’t be as long. Many are wondering about the future ofPersona 5’s Phantom Thieves and the supposed several projects planned for their future. The love forPersona 5’s world and characters could prolong the wait for the next mainline entry in thePersonafranchise. Either way, Atlus is preparing exciting news for something at the New Game+ Expo this year.
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Persona’s Most Recent Success
WhilePersonarealistically has always been a popular JRPG series, the franchise struggled with a similar issue other JRPGs had faced before: the western market. WhilePersona 4: Goldensaw great acclaim in North American and other western markets on the PlayStation Vita,Persona 5was when the series' popularity truly exploded worldwide.Persona 5was a huge revolution for the franchise in a lot of ways, most notably updating the visuals to modern expectations as well as refining and streamlining a lot of the series' classic RPG mechanics.
To no surprise there’s already beenseveral spinoff games featuring the Phantom Thieves.Persona 4received similar treatment, even though the game didn’t reach the same insane height of popularity thatPersona 5has.Persona 4not only received a definitive version inPersona 4 Golden, but also got thePersona 4 Arenafighting game as well as thePersona 4: Dancing All Nightrhythm game spin-offs. Not only hasPersona 5also received its own iteration of theDancingspin-off games, but also has its ownDynasty Warriors-esque hack and slash gamePersona 5 Scramble. That’s not even counting thePersona Qspin-offs on 3DS as well.
Prolonging the Phantom Thieves' Reign
ConsideringScramblehasn’t received a release date for western localization,it’s very possiblePersona 6may be a ways away. The spin-offs are worth mentioning only because in Atlus' recentPersonahistory, these spin-offs usually release first before the next numbered entry is announced or begins the initial marketing blast. Several reports have pointed to morePersona 5spin-off games on the way afterScrambleandDancing in Starlight. It’s very possible that fans will hear more about subsequent spin-offs during New Game+ Expo, but that doesn’t necessarily ruin any chances ofPersona 6being there.
The thing aboutPersona 5’s development is that the game was under a lot of circumstantial pressurecompared to otherPersonagames. Atlus' parent company at the time, Index Holdings, went bankrupt during the initial development ofPersona 5and halted things. Then on a more positive note,Persona 5had moved over to a new engine created specifically for the game. Along with that, the game made some structure shifts in development to optimize for the better hardware on PS4, despite also releasing on PS3 as originally planned. Now thatPersona’s developer P-Studio has acquainted itself to the new development engine, the development time forPersona 6theoretically shouldn’t be as long or tenuous.
Persona 5’s Impact on Persona 6
Along those lines, now thatPersona 5has taken the first leap into a modern revolution for the franchise,Persona 6has the opportunity to refine and perfect that experience even more. There’s a lotPersona 5andPersona 5 Royaldid to bring the series forward almost two entire console generations, overhauling the graphical aesthetics along with several key combat and classicPersonamechanics like Shadow negotiation. There’s also a ton of existing systems that were further refined inPersona 5in many regards,like a focused linear design forPersona 5’s Palaces(main dungeons) instead of solely using the procedurally generated dungeon paths.
There’s also plenty of things that thePersonaseries can work on and improve inPersona 6as well. Thesocial simulator sections inPersona 5, like confidants and romance, have remained largely the same since their inclusion inPersona 3initially.Persona 5 Royalin a lot of ways cleared up several of the minor issues in the base game, like the monotony of Mementos or some of the underrepresented confidants in the game’s plot. NowPersona 6is likely in early development as a new console generation, meaning P-Studio is preparing a game for a modern console ahead of time.
Even if there are morePersona 5spin-off games coming soon before an actual mainline sequel, there’s stillthe chance for aPersona 6teaser at New Game+ Expo this year. Believe it or not,Persona 5initially came out in 2016, so there’s been at least four years of potential early development already for another mainlinePersonagame. It’s not too far-fetched to expect a newPersonagame reveal coming soon, just don’t expect the game to release any time soon.
Persona 6is reportedly in development.
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