This September marks the 25th anniversary of the Persona role-playing game series, and Atlus cannot be accused of under-celebrating the event. The developer is teasing seven Persona-related project announcements, the first of which will be revealed sometime in September.
That septet of announcements stretches out as far as “autumn 2022,” according to the Persona 25th anniversary website, so settle in for an extended wait. Five projects are listed only as “coming soon.”
It’s unclear whether those new Persona projects will be full games, spinoffs, ports, animated series, toys, or something else entirely. But new merchandise is fueling speculation and hope that maybe, just maybe, one of Atlus’ announcements is related to Persona 6, the next game in the franchise.
Two sets of Persona anniversary-themed goods — one focusing on the protagonists of each game in main series, the other showcasing the cover artwork of those games — tease “secret,” still-to-be-announced projects. The conclusion many fans are drawing is that they’ll feature the hero or artwork of the next Persona game(s).
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This September not only marks the 25th anniversary of Persona, but also the fifth anniversary of Persona 5’s release. That entry in the Persona series was first announced in 2013, with an anticipated 2014 release on PlayStation 3, alongside spinoff titles Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, Persona 4: Dancing All Night, and Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth.
Given the Persona series’ foray into rhythm games, fighting games, Dynasty Warriors-style beat-’em-ups, and dungeon crawler-style RPGs, it seems likely that Atlus will continue to exploit the series broadly, which could certainly help flesh out that seven-project announcement list.
Longtime Persona series producer and director Katsura Hashino handed off the reins to the franchise to other creators at Atlus. He is now working on Project Re Fantasy at Studio Zero, a relatively new group within Atlus.