Although 2022 was intended to be the year of Persona, Atlus has spent a significant amount of time focused on the latest Shin Megami Tensei spinoff: Soul Hackers 2, a sequel to another Soul Hackers game that's over two decades old. RPG fans have had plenty of time to enjoy Soul Hackers 2 by now, but Altus isn't through with it yet, as indicated by a major patch for the game that'll release in November, including a variety of demons and changes to in-game movement. This patch is fairly unusual for Atlus RPGs, so Soul Hackers 2 may hint at Atlus' future approach to Persona 6.
The next Persona game hasn't been revealed yet, despite Atlus confirming that Persona 6 is in the works, and Atlus has implied that it won't reveal Persona 6 for a while yet. Nevertheless, fans want to know what the game will look like. For the time being, Soul Hackers 2 may be the best blueprint available for fans, considering how it already borrows from Persona's social systems, despite being closer to the Shin Megami Tensei series overall. It's possible that Soul Hackers 2 is intended to act as the bridge between Persona generations in more ways than one, based on this upcoming patch.
The Soul Hackers 2 Patch Could Suggest Long-Term Support
Fans of Soul Hackers 2 have a lot to look forward to in the upcoming patch. Atlus will add a Dash function that increases Ringo's walking and slashing speeds in dungeons, which should help players navigate the Soul Matrix and other locations more quickly. On a similar note, Fast Battles sound like they'll save players time. Aside from these pacing changes, the patch adds a handful of new demons to the game, including Neko Shogun, Aitvaras, the Egyptian goddess Isis, and a new version of Pixie. These come alongside a range of minor balance and performance changes.
In terms of the game industry, Soul Hackers 2's patch is pretty standard, making healthy adjustments while offering a bit of new content. However, the patch is unusual for Atlus RPGs. Generally these games stand on their own two feet after launch, rather than receiving entirely new mechanics and summonable beings in the months after release. Persona 5 got its share of DLC, but outside of this, Atlus didn't make a habit out of free updates bringing major changes to combat or exploration. Soul Hackers 2 joining the industry trend of downloaded updates that add more content could mean Persona 6 will have its own fair share of post-launch support.
Regular updates could be great for Persona 6, especially if it borrows heavily from Persona 5. For instance, Persona 5's dungeons may have had more personality and engaging mechanics than previous games by largely ditching randomization, but this also hurts their replay value. Persona 6's dungeons could stay interesting if regular patches from Atlus add more Shadows to each dungeon's battle rotation. At the same time, occasionally patching new mechanics into Persona 6 would encourage fans to pick the game back up to see how these changes offer a different experience on an additional playthrough.
There are definitely downsides to Persona 6 potentially embracing post-launch updates. Not every RPG fan plays with an Internet connection, for instance, and it would be a shame if these fans missed out on major content in the next game. Heavy post-launch support could also be a dangerous temptation for Atlus to release a more bare-bones Persona 6 than usual; patches must only cherries on top of a Persona experience that feels robust and complete at launch. Ultimately, the value of post launch support in Persona 6 will come down to execution. For the time being, Soul Hackers 2's patch is at least a good sign that Atlus just wants to build on top of solid RPGs.
Soul Hackers 2 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.