Persona 5 Royal did a lot for the game that came before it. It scored higher on Metacritic than the vanilla version of Persona 5 thanks to the myriad additions and adjustments that Atlus thought to make from the base game. One of the biggest things that Atlus changes between the two versions of the game was the narrative. Although Persona 5 Royal's story was mostly the same as the first game, it runs longer than the first one, and opens up into a couple additional possible endings. Atlus's experimentation with a range of perspectives on the story is a fairly major deviation from the Persona formula.
Persona fans made it clear that they loved how Persona 5 Royal grew from the first game, and didn't mind the additional time added to the game by all the new story beats. The question, then is if Persona 6 will take after Persona 5 Royal specifically. Maybe Atlus likes the idea of having a lot of possible endings, and so Persona 6 won't have as structured a narrative as usual. Maybe players will get a pretty broad range of choice in where the story goes. It could also be that Persona 6 explores some of the new narrative focuses that Persona 5 Royal introduced to the franchise. Warning: Persona 5 Royal spoilers ahead!
Persona 5 Royal's Branching Paths
Arguably the most important ending in Persona 5 Royal is the 'true' ending that a player gets by beating the bonus Palace in the third semester. If Joker declines Maruki's offer to accept his created world and fights Maruki instead, then the ending that ensues is supposedly the true ending. Based on the way the plot unfolds, it stands to reason that it's the most likely the one Atlus considers the closest to canonical. By defeating Maruki, Joker and the Phantom Thieves stand for their rebellion and independence, as is most appropriate to their characters.
However, it's far from the only ending in Persona 5 Royal. It still includes the good and bad endings from the original game. If Joker doesn't work on Maruki's Confidant, then his story ends after defeating Yaldabaoth as usual. There's also still the option to accept Yaldabaoth's deal, giving Joker power over a world corrupted by a mad god. On top of all that, Persona 5 Royal introduces a second bad ending. If Joker accepts Maruki's false reality at any of the opportunities presented, then the narrative wraps up and Maruki's created world becomes permanent. While the created world appears happy, it's clear that it's all a facade.
This is a pretty long list of possible endings. What's really remarkable about them is that Atlus really didn't have to include them all. It could've made things easier for itself and cut out the choice to accept Yaldabaoth's deal in Persona 5 Royal. Similarly, it would've made perfect sense for Joker and the Phantom Thieves' characters if there was no option to accept Maruki's deal. It seems, then, that Atlus was actively interested in creating a broad range of endings for players to consider choosing. If that's something Atlus is looking at, then it could come back in Persona 6.
Many Stories in Persona 6
Persona 5 Royal's multiple endings worked out pretty well. It wouldn't be too hard to replicate that success in another Persona game. Persona 6 could even draw multiple endings along similar lines. There could be both a human antagonist and a supernatural antagonist with storylines running alongside each other, whether loosely or closely connected. These storylines could each have good, bad, or 'true' endings connected to them based on player choice, particularly how players defeat each antagonist and in what order. It'd be great to see Persona 6 introduce a Persona user antagonist whose intentions are well known for a long time, similar to Maruki.
There's also something to be said for the player benefits of choosing an ending. Avoiding a specific canonical ending is a great way to generate fan excitement around the franchise. If Persona 6 has a broad range of endings, it'll encourage fans to discuss and compare all the possibilities, generating excitement about the game's lore and story. What's more, the story structure of multiple endings does speak to the spirit of the Persona franchise in a certain way. Persona is all about people discovering their true selves and gaining power from their unique identities. Multiple endings could be used to empower player interpretations of Persona characters and their beliefs.
Persona 6's ending might look different in terms of gameplay too. After all, Persona 5 Royal's professed true ending comes after beating a completely optional Palace. Persona 6's final dungeon might be one of several different options based on the ending that the player goes for. That'd be a fantastic way to encourage replaying the game beyond seeing different narratives, even if it creates a lot of extra work for Atlus. A long list of final dungeons and final bosses would make Persona 6's narrative pretty interesting to explore.
Inheriting Persona 5's Legacy
There's no doubt that Persona 6 will be reminiscent of Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal in one way or another. These most recent games were so influential in bringing new fans into the Persona franchise that there's no way Atlus isn't sorting out what made those games work so well so that it can replicate the appeal in Persona 6. Narrative is pretty likely to be central to that. Persona 5 Royal's story was a little experimental for the franchise, but it paid off. That could have given Persona 6 the green light to get even more experimental.
All eyes are on Atlus right now. Persona fans really want to see a big push from the studio this year after it promised big things for Persona's 25th anniversary. Several months in, it hasn't revealed a whole lot, although Persona 5 Strikers is a definite success. Maybe Atlus is just letting Strikers have its victory lap for now so that more eyes will be on new announcements over summer or toward fall. Persona 6 is still a total mystery for now, but if there's really something big coming up for the franchise this year, Persona 6 seems like the logical confusion. If they're lucky, by the end of 2021, Persona fans could have their hands on the next game in the franchise and find all kinds of hallmarks from the last one.
Persona 5 Royal is available now for PS4.