September 2021 will kick off a year filled to the brim with Persona news. Atlus promised such a year in the name of the franchise's 25th anniversary, and although it took a while, Atlus is finally ready to fulfill that promise. With a staggering 7 Persona topics to cover, the franchise is about to enter a period of aggressive expansion. It only seems right that Atlus doubles down on the Shin Megami Tensei spinoff series now that Persona 5 has claimed a massive international audience. Release dates for these projects are impossible to predict until they're revealed, but at least fans have a timeline for when they'll start finding out exactly what Atlus is planning.
One topic that's harder to address is Persona 6. Interestingly, Atlus acknowledged that it's working on Persona 6 recently, but didn't indicate that it's part of the impending cycle of announcements. On the contrary, it looks likely that Persona 6 has little to nothing to do with the new wave of Persona projects. When, then, can fans expect Atlus to speak up about Persona 5's successor? Based on Atlus' comments on Persona 6 so far, it could actually be quite a while before Persona fans get a better picture of the long-anticipated game.
Persona's History of Long Development
When Atlus acknowledged that it's working on Persona 6, it didn't say that it's close to revealing the game properly. On the contrary, Atlus said that developing Persona 6 is an uphill climb that requires a lot of extra resources. It's determined to surpass Persona 5, in spite of how wildly influential Persona 5 is. Atlus is currently in the process of expanding itself so that it has enough talent on board to make Persona 6 live up to its own expectations. Development isn't far along, which stands in contrast to old rumors that the game has been in development for a few years now.
While that suggests that Persona 6 has a long development ahead of it still, that wouldn't be so strange. Persona actually has a history of releasing games pretty sporadically. While only two years passed between the release of Persona 3 and Persona 4, a full eight years went by before Atlus released Persona 5 after Persona 4. Similarly, and there are about six years between the Persona 2 duology and Persona 3. Atlus tends to take its time with Persona games, especially when the Persona formula is undergoing major changes. Persona 6 might need five or six years to perfect the necessary formula to follow up on Persona 5.
After all, that's why P2 and P3 as well as P4 and P5 have such big gaps between each other. Persona 3 totally changed Persona's aesthetics from a gritty apocalyptic series much more akin to Shin Megami Tensei's sensibilities to a colorful franchise exploring themes of friendship and social bonds. Similarly, Persona 5 introduced huge changes to Persona social sim elements and made a lot of adjustments to the conceit and environments of Persona. The only known design philosophy being applied to Persona 6 is Atlus' desire to improve upon Persona 5. That'll certainly require a couple of years of careful examination, meaning Persona 6 updates could be years away.
Persona 5's Victory Lap Keeps Extending
It should also be acknowledged that recent Atlus projects have potentially slowed down Persona 6's development. Persona 5 Royal, the extended edition introducing fans to Takuto Maruki and Kasumi Yoshizawa, made a ton of changes that more than justified its release three years after the original Persona 5. There's also Persona 5 Strikers to bear in mind, which is an entirely new game starring the Phantom Thieves that doubtless ate up a lot of Atlus' attention. There are also side projects like the Persona 5 dancing game to factor in.
All these Persona 5 spinoffs add up to a ton of extra resources devoted to the Phantom Thieves that aren't being devoted to Persona 6. Atlus' relentless concentration on Persona 5 in the last few years suggests that Persona 6 hasn't been a priority until very recently. Persona 5 certainly deserved all the extra attention, and it's been worth it. Persona 5 Royal puts a deeply moving spin on the central narrative of Persona 5, and Persona 5 Strikers does well to further the Phantom Thieves' character development while experimenting with a new genre. Atlus keeps reaping benefits from focusing on Persona 5, which means it's had the motive to avoid buckling down on Persona 6 for years.
It's worth acknowledging that all the extra Persona 5 content isn't solely responsible for slowing down Persona 6. In fact, Atlus has a lot on its plate right now, and it has for a while. The Persona 4 Golden remaster for PC must've taken up a fair amount of attention, as did Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne HD Remaster. In the same vein, Atlus has the brand new Shin Megami Tensei 5 to worry about. On top of all these important games, it's pulling out all the stops for the Persona anniversary. Persona 6 has too much competition within Atlus to be anywhere near a major announcement.
Persona 6 Will Arrive in Due Time
If fans should look to anything as a glimmer of hope for Persona 6 news, Atlus' statement about the game should actually give them that hope. Even though it indicates that the game needs time, the statement itself is a remarkable gesture of transparency on Atlus' part. It's possible that this initial statement could lead to more small updates that don't reveal anything explicit about Persona 6 while still giving fans a sense of how Persona 6 is doing in development. Regular check-ins leading up to a proper Persona 6 announcement in a couple of years would be great.
On the whole, though, it looks like Persona fans should temper their expectations. It could be a couple of years before Atlus reveals anything concrete about Persona 6. Atlus simply has too many projects on its plate to suddenly get enough done to reveal Persona 6. There's no sign that the game will release anytime soon. As disappointing as that is, at least Atlus is prepared to accommodate fans in the meantime. The wealth of Persona reveals that kickoff in September promises that there'll be enough media in the Persona IP to keep fans invested in this universe until Persona 6 is done. As far as consolation prizes go, the Persona anniversary looks like a pretty good one.
Persona 6 is in development.