For many years, Atlus was an underdog of the video game industry, living in the shadow of other major Japanese publishers like Square Enix and Bandai Namco. However, in recent times, the Persona and Shin Megami Tense i developer has attracted the attention of large audiences worldwide and has been repeatedly hailed as one of the best JRPG studios out there. 2024 further cemented Atlus‘ strong reputation in the gaming landscape. Not only did it release the critically-acclaimed remake Persona 3 Reload and the well-received re-release Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance, it also launched the Game of the Year nominee Metaphor: ReFantazio, all within a span of 12 months. That’s without even mentioning Unicorn Overlord, the Atlus-published Vanillaware game that debuted to rave reviews back in March.
In contrast to how busy 2024 has been for Atlus, 2025 seems comparatively empty. At the moment, nothing has been officially confirmed about the company’s release schedule for next year. This is a stark contrast to December 2023; just 12 months ago, Atlus had already announced most of the games that it intended to release in 2024. Even setting aside launch windows, though, there is very little known about most of the company’s future projects. In fact, the only upcoming Atlus game that’s been revealed so far is Persona 5: The Phantom X, a gacha RPG for PC and mobile phones.
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Atlus’s 2025 Release Schedule is Shrouded in Mystery
Persona 5: The Phantom X Could Be Released in the West Next Year
Persona 5: The Phantom X, as its name suggests, is a spin-off of the hit 2016 JRPG Persona 5. Unlike most games in the Persona series, it’s being developed not by Atlus, but by the Chinese studio Perfect World Games. Persona 5: The Phantom X has already been released in open beta in certain regions (e.g. China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea). Despite becoming available to parts of the public in April of this year, the game still doesn’t have a 1.0 launch window. In addition, Atlus hasn’t even formally announced plans to bring Persona 5: The Phantom X to the West. It has, however, revealed that the game will come to Japan in the near future.
Even though Atlus and its parent company Sega have yet to share info on a Western launch for Persona 5: The Phantom X, they do want to bring it to more countries at some point. During an offline event in Shanghai on July 12, 2024, developers at Atlus and Perfect World Games confirmed that they intend to release Persona 5: The Phantom X internationally and bring it to consoles afterwards. Since the Persona franchise is fully multiplatform these days, it’s likely that Persona 5: The Phantom X will eventually end up on PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo systems in the coming years.
Given how adamant Atlus developers are on bringing P5X to more players, a Western release for it in 2025 seems plausible. Sega has recently registered a website domain for the game under the name Persona5X.com, so that suggests that its worldwide launch or, at the very least, announcement for its worldwide launch isn’t too far away.
Fans May Finally Get Some New Information About Persona 6 in 2025
Of course, when talking about upcoming Atlus games, one would be remiss not to mention the next mainline installment in the Persona series, Persona 6. Unlike Persona 5: The Phantom X, P6 technically hasn’t been announced yet. It has, however, been mentioned several times in job listings and interviews with Atlus developers over the years, so its existence is all but confirmed. Even though Persona 6 is arguably one of the most anticipated JRPGs of all time, there’s nothing officially known about it at the moment. The few bits and pieces of public information about the game come from rumors and leaks, some of which are of dubious legitimacy.
Insiders such as Head on the Block have alleged that Persona 6 will have a green color scheme, much like how Persona 3, 4, and 5 have their own distinctive color palettes. The game will also reportedly feature two playable protagonists, one male and one female, and have themes centered around the concept of Yin and Yang. It’s not exactly clear how accurate these rumored details are, but if there’s one thing that’s likely to be true, it’s that Persona 6 may launch on all platforms, just like the aforementioned Persona 5: The Phantom X.
Persona 6 didn’t make an appearance at The Game Award 2024 this month, so it seems unlikely that it will be released next year, given how information on the game is still so scant. Even still, it’s possible that Atlus may officially unveil P6 sometime in 2025, whether that be with a brief teaser trailer or with an extensive gameplay preview. If this actually happens, then it’s likely that the highly-anticipated JRPG will be announced at a major presentation of some kind, like the June Xbox Showcase, PlayStation State of Play, or Nintendo Switch 2 reveal event. It’s important to keep expectations in check, though, because nothing has been set in stone.
Atlus Could Have Some Surprises Up Its Sleeve in 2025
There are a few rumored Atlus games that may come out next year, as well. Recent updates to the Steam achievements list for Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne HD Remaster seemingly suggest that remasters of the classic Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha games may be in the works. In addition to this, updated re-releases of Persona 1 and 2 may also be in development, according to recent reports from leaker RyanFromTheBronx. Since these four games are apparently going to get remasters and not Persona 3 Reload-style remakes, a 2025 launch window for them doesn’t seem too unlikely.
The
Raidou Kuzunoha
games are a duology of cult-classic JRPGs that were released by Atlus exclusively for the PS2. The first game,
Shin Megami Tensei Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army
, came out in 2006, while its sequel,
Shin Megami Tensei Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon
, made its debut in 2008.
RyanFromTheBronx also claimed earlier this year that mobile game spin-offs of both Metaphor: ReFantazio and Shin Megami Tensei were in development for Netflix. Not much information is available about these purported Atlus projects, assuming they even exist, and all leaks should be taken with a grain of salt, but if there’s truth to them, they have a shot at being released in 2025.
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