In the last few months, Atlus has been celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Persona franchise in a few different ways. Persona games have gone on sale, Atlus has offered fans new ways to get Persona merchandise, anime adaptations of the franchise have become more available, and so on. Many of these celebrations have been a little more modest than Persona fans hoped, but there's some sign that Atlus is ramping up to bigger events in 2022. For instance, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax coming to PC, Switch, and PS4 this year could mean that there's a new Persona game on the way after all.
Atlus has said explicitly that it plans to release a big new game in 2022, and since it'll be celebrating the franchise's anniversary until autumn, it wouldn't be surprising if that big game has to do with Persona. However, there's also reason to believe that Atlus' mysterious fantasy RPG, known only as Project Re Fantasy, will finally make its debut this year. One has to wonder if that's a wise move, though. Debuting during Persona's anniversary year could raise Project Re Fantasy's profile as a new member of the Atlus family, but it could also leave Project Re Fantasy in Persona's shadow.
Persona's Next Big Title
Because it's possible that Atlus announces a new Persona game as a part of the anniversary, Project Re Fantasy inherently faces some risk by theoretically releasing in 2022. Even if Atlus merely reveals Persona 6 or announces a new game in the Persona 5 suite, Project Re Fantasy might be forced to fight for attention as Persona fans focus on the next Persona title rather than giving the new Atlus IP the attention it deserves. Between more Persona games getting ported to current consoles and confirmation that Persona 6 is in development, hopes are high that the Persona anniversary will include a major game.
Even if there isn't a big new Persona game releasing in 2022, there's a case to be made that Atlus should just focus on the anniversary, rather than trying to balance Persona and Project Re Fantasy at the same time. After Persona 5, the franchise's audience grew a lot, and so Atlus' anniversary celebration is a valuable opportunity to cater to fans and build anticipation for future Persona games. The dawn of a new Atlus IP is such a big deal that Project Re Fantasy might ultimately feel like a distraction from Persona's 25th anniversary more than anything else.
Project Re Fantasy Can Still Flourish
While it's possible that Project Re Fantasy could fail to mesh with Persona's anniversary, Atlus' work in late 2021 suggests that Project Re Fantasy would probably be okay. Shin Megami Tensei 5 released in November 2021, well into the Persona anniversary celebration, indicating that Atlus wasn't afraid to juggle the anniversary and a major game release. Atlus has also been pretty modest in its approach to celebrating the anniversary, focusing on Persona merchandise and non-game activities over a series of ports and remasters. There's always a chance, but as of now, the odds of a 2022 release for Persona 6, a Persona 5 sequel, or anything similar seem low.
That means that Project Re Fantasy can probably make a pretty comfortable debut within 2022. Persona reaching its 25th birthday is a big deal, but Atlus hasn't risen to fame on the back of Persona alone. Atlus is a successful studio by the merit of many franchises, and so it can afford to celebrate one of its oldest franchises while simultaneously starting a new one. Even if Persona and Project Re Fantasy have almost nothing in common, they can still work together to make 2022 a great year for Atlus.
