This year, thePersonaseries celebrates its 25th anniversary and Atlus has teased “big news” coming this year as a result. Many fans are anticipating aPersona 6announcement, especially now thatPersona 5has finished with its expanded re-release and its direct sequel. ThePersona 5sub-franchise is already quite expansive, so it’s about time that Atlus moves on to a new cast and story.
There’s no official news about a new title yet, though rumors have been brewing for some time.Persona 6’s announcement is definitely plausible,but it may be some time before fans get to see very much of it.
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An Announcement Does Seem Likely
APersona 6revealwould be a great way to celebratePersona’s 25 years and usher in a new era of content for the franchise. A new mainline title would generate lots of hype, and there is plenty of content to tide fans over while waiting for its release. There is a lot of significance riding on the milestone of 25 years, so it seems unlikely that Atlus would leave it alone with just the release ofPersona 5 Strikers. The announcement ofPersona 6is near inevitable, but it’s a question of when it will happen.
There is also a lot of speculation on what formPersona 6will take. There is always room for improvement in the series, andPersona 6could change up the franchise’s established formula. Social Link systems can be expanded, new forms of combat could be pursued, and tropes can be shaken up. There’s a world of possibilities, which raises the anticipation for this new title.
The Release Could Take Much Longer
Longtime fans of thePersonafranchise will remember how long it took forPersona 5to finally be released. The game was delayed several times, and released years after its initial announcement.Personagames are big, expansive RPGsthat require a lot of work. Once the original Japanese release is finished, then the localization team will have thousands of lines to work on before the English-speaking audience can play. After how long it took for the last main entry in the series, it may be a bit hard to take Atlus at its word on the initial release date. At the same time, this is dependent on how active it is in development (assuming it is) and if it doesn’t go for a worldwide release due to the franchise’s recently popularity
Atlus can certainly afford to take it time, though, no matter. ThePersona 5games are massively popular, and fans are still getting plenty of enjoyment out of them. SinceStrikersjust released, there isn’t exactly a rush to get new content out.Strikersalso left just enough open endsin the story that it’s possible that there could be more to explore in thePersona 5games.
There could also be a return to olderPersonagames as well. ThePersona 3orPersona 4cast could return in another fighting game, for instance. ThePersona 3cast’s inclusion in thePersona Qgames as well as their own dancing game suggests that there could be areturn toPersona 3before any completely new entries in the series. WhilePersona 3received its own sequels and expanded editions, fans have requested a full remake for quite some time. The previous casts are already well-established and loved, so Atlus may take a safer route by continuing to use these characters before taking risks on new ones.
Until Atlus makes an official announcement, all fans can do is wait and speculate. No matter what, Atlus will likely have something big to offer for the franchise’s milestone anniversary this year.
Persona 5 Strikersis available now for PC, PS4, and Switch.
