It's almost hard to believe nowadays that the Persona series used to be relatively obscure. What was once enjoyed by only die-hard RPG enthusiasts has gradually risen in popularity, with Persona 5 arguably being the game that helped it break into the gaming mainstream. And according to Atlus' own financial report, its popularity is unlikely to dip any time soon.
As reported on by Persona Central, Atlus published its report for the most recent fiscal year, which covered April 2020 to March 2021. Among the statistics was the Persona series overall sales performance. Ever since the release of the first game in 1996, the series has managed to push over 15 million units worldwide, and this is including digital copies.
In terms of specific games, Persona 5's updated re-release, Persona 5 Royal, has sold roughly 1.8 million copies since its 2019 Japanese release, while the sequel/spin-off game Persona 5 Strikers has already managed to sell about 1.3 million copies. While the West didn't receive Strikers until earlier this year, it did release in Japan in February 2020.
2020 also saw Persona 4 Golden be ported to PC, which has become another bona fide success for Atlus and parent company Sega. Approximately 900,000 copies were sold worldwide following its Steam release in June last year. Combined with the sales of the original PlayStation Vita release, the game has collectively sold more than 2.4 million copies. The Persona series has only recently begun to start releasing on PC and Sega has suggested that previous entries in the series will receive PC ports as well.
For the fiscal year ending in March 2021, Atlus says that it has managed to exceed expectations thanks to the releases of the aforementioned games, alongside the Shin Megami Tensei 3 remaster and 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. Although the reports state that the company suffered a net loss of 976.3 million yen (which is about $8.8 million), it still managed to surpass its target numbers.
All in all, the future is certainly looking bright for the Persona series, even though there are currently no confirmed new projects. While it hasn't formally been announced, many expect Persona 6 to already be in development and there have been rumors/speculation of a Persona 5 fighting game spin-off.
At the moment, Atlus' focus is most likely on the next Shin Megami Tensei game, Shin Megami Tensei 5, which is releasing as a Nintendo Switch exclusive in November. Despite Persona being a sub-series, the Shin Megami Tensei series has yet to reach the same level of popularity. With how much attention it's already receiving and some of its similarities to Persona, perhaps this game will be able to attract a new audience.
Sources: Persona Central