Although Atlus hasn't confirmed any launch platforms for Persona 6, it feels fairly safe to assume that the game will be a PlayStation star when it finally comes around. The Persona franchise has a long, lucrative history of PlayStation exclusivity, and so it just seems inevitable that Persona 6 will be available on its home console as usual. However, Persona's context has changed a lot lately, due to a growing fanbase and Atlus breaking its own publishing habits. Because of recent Atlus games and future releases alike, one wonders if Persona 6 has any chance of releasing on the Xbox.
Microsoft's Xbox Series X has no shortage of compelling exclusive RPGs on the horizon, from Bethesda's newly unveiled Starfield to a long-awaited reboot of Fable. Still, the Xbox Series X is a little less strong in the JRPG department. Atlus' latest Persona announcement suddenly establishes a strong presence for the franchise on the Xbox, which could lead to much more Persona content on the Xbox in the future. Persona may have done well for itself on the PlayStation so far, but Atlus has strongly started to suggest that the Xbox Series X could be a home of the next Persona game.
Atlus' Recent Xbox Endeavors
Atlus' first big step towards an Xbox presence in recent memory comes from Soul Hackers 2, a sequel to Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers coming some 25 years after the original. The original game was mostly associated with the Sega Saturn and the original PlayStation, but Soul Hackers 2 plans to release on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X, alongside less surprising PS4 and PS5 releases. Soul Hackers 2 looks different from its predecessor in a lot of ways, potentially suggesting that Atlus is trying to reinvent the Soul Hackers brand and establish it as a new franchise that spans both PlayStation and Xbox.
Now that the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase has come and gone, however, Soul Hackers 2 is hardly Atlus' only Xbox ambassador. Persona 3 Portable, Persona 4 Golden, and Persona 5 Royal are all coming to PC and Xbox soon. None of these games have ever been accessible on Xbox before, instead remaining loyal to the PlayStation. Atlus is therefore making a clear large-scale effort to find new Persona fans among the Xbox audience. Persona 5 has already made the Persona audience swell, but these ports have the power to vastly increase the market for Persona products.
Over the course of the last few months, Atlus has suddenly gone from having virtually no presence on the Xbox to solidly set up for an Xbox resurgence. Atlus made it clear even before this that it's no longer content working with the PlayStation alone; recent titles like the Persona 4 Golden rerelease and Persona 5 Strikers have famously reached out to platforms like PC and the Nintendo Switch. Still, the recent uptick in Xbox Megami Tensei content is remarkable. It may be a strong sign that Atlus wants Persona 6 to release on the Xbox as well.
Persona 6 Could Change the Franchise's Course
For a long time, Persona 6 has already seemed like a game destined to redefine Persona, even without considering its possible special place on the Xbox. Persona 6 seems poised to bring widespread innovation to the franchise; Persona 5 became a huge hit partially thanks to the ways it broke from franchise tradition and reworked major mechanics, so Persona 6 likely also intends to establish a unique identity by rebuilding mechanical conventions and telling a surprising new story. Based on its own comments about the bar that Persona 5 set for Persona 6, odds are good that Atlus will try to make lightning strike twice by overhauling Persona even more.
Still, as special as Persona 6's place within the franchise's mechanical identity is, it's potential as a brand ambassador on the Xbox is also crucial. Just a few years ago, Persona had a relatively limited international audience, but now the franchise will be more accessible than ever. After the new Persona ports warm Xbox users up to the franchise, Persona 6 can unify its established PlayStation fanbase with newfound Xbox players through a totally new shared experience. If Persona 6 simultaneously releases on multiple platforms, it'll be a true testament to how far the franchise has come in the last decade.
Atlus hasn't confirmed anything about Persona 6's platforms, of course. It could be quite a long time before fans get that information, since it sounds like Persona 6 is still in very early stages of development. Unless Persona 6 gets revealed within the Persona anniversary celebration after all, fans may find themselves waiting for Persona 6 updates until long after the Persona ports release. In the meantime, though, Soul Hackers 2 and the ports form an obvious pattern of newfound Xbox availability that Persona 6 could carry forward.
Persona is Beyond PlayStation Exclusivity Now
Whatever platforms it ultimately releases on, some kind of multiplatform release for Persona 6 just makes sense at this point. Persona has fared well on the PlayStation, but PC and Switch users have had a taste of Persona and are eager for more; the same will presumably be true for Xbox fans soon. Returning to PlayStation exclusivity would be a massive disappointment for fans who have spent years demanding better Persona accessibility. A PC port of Persona 5 has been in demand for quite some time, so Atlus seemingly listening to fan demand in this instance is encouraging for the fate of Persona 6.
Even if Persona 6 doesn't rear its head somewhere in the near future, Atlus may provide other hints that the Xbox is part of Persona's future. There are tons of Persona spinoffs like Persona 5 Strikers and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax that aren't on the Xbox Series X or Xbox One yet, so maybe these games will join Xbox Game Pass alongside the core games that inspired them. All in all, Atlus' recent movements toward the Xbox are excellent news when taken with the context of its PC and Switch ventures. Hopefully Persona 3, 4, and 5 are only appetizers for Xbox users, rather than the main course.
Persona 6 is in development.