This year, the Persona series celebrates its 25th anniversary and Atlus has teased "big news" coming this year as a result. Many fans are anticipating a Persona 6 announcement, especially now that Persona 5 has finished with its expanded re-release and its direct sequel. The Persona 5 sub-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.
An Announcement Does Seem Likely
A Persona 6 reveal would be a great way to celebrate Persona'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 of Persona 5 Strikers. The announcement of Persona 6 is near inevitable, but it's a question of when it will happen.
There is also a lot of speculation on what form Persona 6 will take. There is always room for improvement in the series, and Persona 6 could 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 the Persona franchise will remember how long it took for Persona 5 to finally be released. The game was delayed several times, and released years after its initial announcement. Persona games are big, expansive RPGs that 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. The Persona 5 games are massively popular, and fans are still getting plenty of enjoyment out of them. Since Strikers just released, there isn't exactly a rush to get new content out. Strikers also left just enough open ends in the story that it's possible that there could be more to explore in the Persona 5 games.
There could also be a return to older Persona games as well. The Persona 3 or Persona 4 cast could return in another fighting game, for instance. The Persona 3 cast's inclusion in the Persona Q games as well as their own dancing game suggests that there could be a return to Persona 3 before any completely new entries in the series. While Persona 3 received 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 Strikers is available now for PC, PS4, and Switch.
