Persona 5

Unreleased

Persona 5 is an upcoming role-playing game developed by Atlus' P-Studio.

Development
The game was first mentioned to be under development in August 2011 in an interview between Katsura Hashino, the producer of the Persona series and Famitsu, the Japanese gaming magazine with the most circulation, even though he only called it "the next numbered title". Hashino confirmed that the basic preparations for the development were finished and announced the return of Shigenori Soejima and Shoji Meguro as character designer and music composer, respectively. Both Soejima and Meguro previously worked together with Hashino on Persona 3, Persona 4 and Catherine.

Unlike Catherine, which used the Gamebryo engine, Persona 5 will be made with a new engine. Before it was decided that the game would be released exclusively for the PlayStation 3, it was also discussed internally to move the series to mobile gaming devices like the PlayStation Vita or smartphones. Eventually, Hashino and his team chose the PlayStation 3 as they felt that fans would love to see another game for home consoles.

The story of Persona 5 will discuss the hardships of modern-day society and feature characters that are restrained by the rules set by this society. As a result, players will be confronted with trials and chains that they will have to overcome. Much like the previous installments of the series the game is set in a high school - however, the mood and tone will be different. Hashino explains that Persona 5 is about a kind of freedom that is different from the other games in the series. This freedom is meant to liberate those who "are bored and discontent with their lives". Despite this, Atlus expects and wants players of Persona 3 and Persona 4 to feel at home with this game. Persona 5 is meant to be an emotional experience that stirs up its audience and finally lets them go with a strong message of catharsis after everything is said and done.

Persona 5 was officially revealed on November 24, 2013 following a 72-hour countdown that eventually resulted in a series of announcements that included Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth and Persona 4: Dancing All Night. A Persona 5 website domain was previously registered on June 25th, 2013 by Index Corporation, the former parent company of Atlus. An American release was confirmed on February 25, 2014 with an estimated release in 2015. A PlayStation 4 version of the game was announced on September 1, 2014 during Sony's Tokyo Game Show conference with a new trailer that gave a first look on the setting and one of the game's characters.