Early conceptual development onPersona 5began in 2008 following the release ofPersona 4, but the bulk of development began afterCatherine’s release in 2011. The engineCatherinewas built on ended up serving as the foundation forPersona 5’s custom engine, and thus the nextPersona’s unfortunately long-winded development began. Originally intended to release on the PS3, Atlus saw multiple circumstantial roadblocks that unintentionally extendedPersona 5’s development far longer than intended.Persona 5did eventually release in 2016 in Japan (2017 in the west), though not without development experiencing its fair share of hurdles.
Circumstantially, at least based on comments from Katsura Hashino in interview, several things got in the way during P-Studio’s development ofPersona 5. However, none of the initial halts toPersona 5were at the fault of the developers themselves. A lot of things happening behind the scenes, whether it be the bankruptcy of Atlus' parent company at the time, or the release of the PS4 splitting development between current and next-gen hardware. Now, however, Atlus couldn’t be in a better spot with the popularity ofPersonasurging, as well as no exterior factors affecting the company. The nextPersonagame certainly shouldn’t take as long to develop.
Circumstantial Roadblocks Hindered Persona 5’s Development the Most
For Atlus,Persona 5development never seemed to have too many in-house development issues. In numerous interviews, game director Katsura Hashino only ever really mentioned delays being caused by developing the game for at-the-time new PS4 hardware, alongside the PS3 version. Enhancing the same game engine used onCatherine,Persona 5was planning to be a significant technical overhaulof the existingPersonagame engine. Development was always going to be longer than previousPersonatitles, but not as long as the game’s development ended up being. Exterior factors allegedly were the biggest roadblocks for Atlus and P-Studio.
Atlus' parent company, Index Corporation, ended up filing for bankruptcy in June of 2013. The fate of Atlus had quickly become unclear because Index still owned the game company, but Sega eventually came into the picture a few months later.Sega purchased the assets of Index Corporation in Septemberof that year, most notably Atlus and all of its development studios. From there, Atlus had the financial backing to continue working diligently onPersona 5. From there, the major hurdles for development were the modernization of the Persona creatures themselves, which ended up being a huge commitment for the game’s almost-200 usable Personas.
Development on the Next Persona Should Not Take as Long
In 2018, theoretically when initial work could’ve started on aPersona 6, Atlus and P-Studio couldn’t have been in a better place.Persona 5was kicking off a surge in popularity for the series by the end of 2017, which wouldonly extend further with the release ofPersona 5 Royaland portingPersona 4 Goldento Steam in 2020.Personaseries director Kazuhisa Wada has mentioned thatPersonais looking ahead long-term, specifically planning “new numbered entries” for the future. Additional rumors have pointed to a newPersonagame being in development, though nothing has been confirmed at the moment.
Barring any other extreme circumstances, the nextPersonagame’s developmentshould not take as long asPersona 5did. Any substantial development would’ve theoretically began in early 2018 or 2019, which was right around when console makers were issuing developer kits to partnered developers. There’s a slim chance that the nextPersonagame is being developed for last-gen systems, so the PS5/Xbox Series X/PC platforms are the only likely candidates for a release in the next few years. Given that development wouldn’t be split between two different hardware specifications, and barring any other significant hurdles, development should be much shorter.
Atlus and the Persona Series Could Not Be in a Better Position
Pair that with Atlus seemingly having no exterior factors affecting P-Studio’s development team, andPersona’s popularity at its greatest, the series is in a very good spot.Persona 5 Royal,Persona 4 Golden, and evenPersona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers' release in Japan exceeded sales expectations. Current series director Kazuhisa Wada also teased a big announcement coming for the franchise’s 25th anniversary this year, which could potentially mean a reveal of some kind. Granted, even in 2021, the nextPersonagame would theoretically still be pretty early on in development, but a new game announcement isn’t entirely out of the question.
Persona 5is still riding a considerable high after the enhancedPersona 5 Royal, andPersona 5 Strikerscoming next month, so a newPersonaisn’t releasing any time soon.Persona 5partnerships are happening across all manner of media,from mobile games likeAFK ArenatoDragalia Lost, so the series isn’t losing any momentum. Regardless, the nextPersonagame shouldn’t be half a decade away likePersona 5ended up being. Circumstances out of Atlus' control ended up delaying the fifth entry several times, but there’s no reason to believe the same could happen toPersona 6at the moment.
