This September marks the 25th anniversary of the Persona franchise. This high school spin-off of the older, darker Shin Megami Tensei franchise has been keeping players entertained with its interpersonal drama, student life simulation, involved combat mechanics, and even a bit of Pokemon-like monster collecting for many years. The series took off with Persona 3, but publisher and developer Atlus has made a point of showing off Persona 1 and 2’s three protagonists on the website it has prepared for Persona’s anniversary. However, this website, and an announcement accompanying it, has raised many eyebrows at what lies in Persona’s immediate future.
The website includes seven slots for announcements regarding the Persona series’ future. It makes sense that Atlus would want to load up on products and news for this specific sub-series, as Persona has surpassed its parent franchise in global popularity and sales. The website makes a point of noting how Persona has sold 15 million units worldwide as of this year. Thus, as part of the anniversary celebrations, Atlus will make seven Persona announcements between September 2021 and Autumn 2022. These could be just about anything; from ports, to merchandise, to anime. However, there’s a few particular things that fans suspect to see.
Persona 6
The first guess is the most obvious. With Persona 5 having its 5-year anniversary this fall, and Persona 5 Royal and Persona 5 Strikers out for over a year each in Japan, fans are suspecting that Atlus has moved on to its next major Persona project. Whether it’s the first announcement, the last, or somewhere in between, it is almost certain that Persona 6 will make an appearance over the course of the next year.
Adding fuel to this theory is the presence of an extra white band in the Persona 25th anniversary logo. Colors are assigned to every protagonist and game in the site artwork, but none of those colors are white. This is potentially a clue to the primary color associated with Persona 6, and fans are already settling in for the long wait until they learn what it all means.
Persona 3 Remake
Next up is something fans have been asking for for a while: the definitive version of Persona 3. A remake of Persona 3 wouldn’t need to change much about the presentation — some new 3D models would be more than enough — but this hypothetical game’s true strengths lie in incorporating the features of Persona 3’s re-releases.
The female campaign and playable party members from Persona 3 Portable, the hard mode, and extra “The Answer” epilogue from Persona 3 FES, would be great to see together, especially if the female protagonist was given an explorable overworld like the original release. The massive amount of new dialogue necessary, alongside PSP memory restrictions, preventing an equivalent female campaign could finally be left behind in this ideal remake.
Persona 5 Fighting Game
It’s been a while since the first two Persona fighting games. Persona 4 Arena and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax were both beloved Arc System Works titles released for seventh generation consoles, and fans have been anticipating another for Persona 5. It’s been rumored for a while that Atlus had plans to bring the Persona fighting games back with an installment for Persona 5.
That idea was given some credence when Atlus recently renewed the domains for "PERSONA8.JP," "PERSONA9.JP," "PERSONA10.JP," and "P5U.JP." The last one reminds many fans of Ultimax, even if that’s not the main title of the sub-series. It’s hard to say if anything more will be heard from this little line of spin-offs, but if there was ever a time for a reveal, it would be now.
Persona Mobile Game
The topic of a Persona 5 mobile game is another one mired in rumors, but this time the evidence is more concrete. Back in April, the Chinese game developer Perfect World announced that it was developing a mobile game for a "famous JRPG IP" that has sold "over 10 million units worldwide." With a trailer apparently taking place in Shibuya and featuring characters seemingly in some sort of heist, it’s a dead ringer for Persona 5. This Code Name: X looks like a side story to the main Persona 5 story, possibly featuring a second group of Phantom Thieves. Information has been scarce on it thus far, but the likelihood of its full reveal coming over the next year is very high.
Persona 1+2 Remaster
It did not take fans long to notice that Persona 1 and 2 were being given equal treatment to their better-known siblings in the Persona 25th anniversary promotional materials. Many are now wondering if Atlus has any further plans for the old PlayStation RPGs. It would definitely be nice to have a re-translation of the three old games, and an easier-to-parse collection of the Persona 2 duology. With some modern polish added to the Persona fusion systems, many modern fans would love to see how the series got its start. If nothing else, they would probably enjoy seeing the wild plot points Persona 2 implements later on, thanks to its conceit of rumors coming to life.
PC and Switch Persona Ports
Last, but most certainly not least, is the prospect of more Persona games coming to PC and Nintendo Switch. Persona has been a PlayStation-exclusive series for a long time, with a couple spin-offs making their way to 3DS. However, out of the blue last year, Persona 4 Golden came to Steam, and Persona 5 Strikers was given a Switch and PC release. While Xbox owners seemingly continue to be left out, PC and Switch users have a chance of seeing more of the iconic series.
Fans let Atlus know loud and clear that they want more of its games on Steam, and the Switch is a fairly safe bet for good-selling ports of the older games. Even Persona 5 Royal could theoretically make it onto the Switch if ported and downsized. Even though they would be lesser announcements, seeing ports of the Persona franchise arrive on other platforms would still be a huge victory in many fans’ books.