Kicking off in Fall 2021, the year-long celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Persona franchise is currently expected to continue until late 2022. At the beginning of the event, developer Atlus confirmed that there were multiple reveals planned for the following year. Now, as 2022 approaches its halfway point, Atlus has delivered a few announcements, but several more Persona-related reveals could potentially be on the horizon.
The Persona franchise, which began with Revelations: Persona in 1996, now accompanies over a dozen games including both main series and spinoffs. The six major entries in the series are lengthy RPGs with unique social elements, while the side games have encompassed genres ranging from 1v1 fighting games to "musou-style" fighters to rhythm-based dance games. Fans have hoped that the year's announcements will include new titles, but, so far, they have had no luck, as Atlus' announcements have focused on highlighting existing games instead.
Persona Anniversary Announcements So Far
So far, most of the announcements made by Atlus to celebrate Persona's 25th anniversary have been fairly minor. The franchise will be receiving new merchandise, including clothing, accessories, as well as a handful of Japan-exclusive pop-up cafés. Soundtracks for Persona 5 Royal and Persona 5 Strikers were added to the Spotify music streaming service, while a deluxe edition set of soundtrack CDs was released featuring music from every game in the series. Persona even received its own mouthwash in the form of a collaboration with popular Japanese brand Mondahmin.
The only game-related announcement made to date is the rerelease of fighting game spinoff Persona 4 Arena Ultimax for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Steam. In addition, one event has been revealed: a concert called the 'Persona Super Live P-Sound Wish 2022 ~ Crossing Paths~.' This live Persona music event will be held in Japan on October 8th and 9th; global fans will be given the opportunity to purchase tickets for $35 to watch one of the two performances virtually.
How Many Announcements Are Left?
As of now, the Japanese version of the Persona 25th anniversary website has slots remaining for five new announcements to be made throughout the rest of the year. One mystery announcement is given a release date of sometime in June 2022, while another is labeled more vaguely as Autumn 2022. The other three mystery announcements do not have a date attached to them, but are positioned between the June and Autumn announcements on the website. With the current announcements coming in February, April, and June, fans speculate that at least one of the undated reveals will happen in August, maintaining the current two-month pattern.
Fans also theorize that the "Autumn" announcement could be coming in October - in particular, on either October 8th or October 9th at the Persona Super Live concert event. This would not be the first time that Atlus has chosen to reveal new Persona content following a concert. Persona 5 Royal, the 2019 enhanced rerelease of main series title Persona 5, was announced at a previous Super Live event. Atlus' Twitter post regarding the event revealed that 'special guests' will be present at the concert; these could easily be visitors from Atlus with news to share for excited fans.
Anniversary Announcements Persona Fans Hope to See
The announcement fans are hoping for the most is any information regarding Persona 6, a future sixth entry in the main series. So far, little is known about a hypothetical Persona 6 beyond the fact that Atlus does intend to make it following the success of Persona 5. However, some fans are concerned that it will still be several years until Atlus shares any news; Persona 5 began development in 2008, but was delayed several times and ultimately did not release until 2016. If Persona 6 is announced during the celebration, it will likely be as the final Persona anniversary announcement scheduled to occur some time this fall.
Other fans would like to see ports of existing Persona titles, including both newer and older titles in the series, onto new platforms. With the spinoff Persona 5 Strikers making an appearance on the Nintendo Switch, some Persona enthusiasts hold out hope that Persona 5 could make it to the Switch as well. A Persona 5 appearance on Xbox consoles would also be appreciated by fans, as would the appearance of enhanced remake Persona 4 Golden on either Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, or even PlayStation 5. Any announcements at all regarding re-releases of Persona 1 or Persona 2, though not expected, would likely be heralded as good news.
The last major hope held by fans is a potential remake of Persona 3. While Persona 3 did receive new versions shortly after its release, including Persona 3 FES, which added an epilogue called 'The Answer,' and Persona 3 Portable, which gave the option to play as a female protagonist, it has not been updated with many of the quality-of-life features found in later Persona games. Similar to Persona 4 Golden and Persona 5 Royal, an enhanced remake of Persona 3 could potentially add new content and characters.
So far, 2022 has not exactly been the 'year of Atlus' that fans initially predicted. Persona-related announcements have been minor, and have focused almost entirely on new merchandise and promoting the game's music. However, with up to five mystery announcements still remaining for the rest of the year according to the official Website, it is still possible that the Persona 25th anniversary celebration could make fans' dreams come true. Even a Persona 6 reveal is not yet out of the question.