Personahas been a successful series for many years, butPersona 5’s sales speak for themselves. The latest core installation in Atlus' high school JRPG franchise is a massive hit and may have changed the course of thePersonafranchise forever. Many corePersonagames get spinoffs in their time, butPersona5has been particularly productive since its debut, spawning a sequel inPersona 5 Strikersand a long list of crossovers with other video games. With all that hype in mind, it’s no surprise that fans want to seePersona 5come to more consoles. Fans always enjoy more options for play, and makingPersona 5more accessible could make the franchise even more successful.
That’s whya recent Microsoft tweet aboutPersona 5has gotten so many fans excited. The game has yet to make its way on Xbox, and there hasn’t been any sign that Atlus was aiming for an Xbox release, but the tweet could be a sign of change.Persona 5fans should note that it isn’t the only sign ofPersona’s potential presence on the Xbox. The upcoming 2022 releaseSoul Hackers 2will be on Xbox, in spite ofMegami Tenseilargely preferring Sony and Nintendo consoles.Soul Hackers 2establishes a relationship between Atlus and Microsoft that could lead toPersona 5finally joining the Xbox library.
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Persona and Megami Tensei’s Change in Consoles
For many years, thePersonafranchise has largely preferred the PlayStation as its platform of choice. That includesPersona 5,which was a PS3 and PS4 title at launch; its expanded editionPersona 5 Royalwas a PS4 exclusive too. In the last few years, however,Personaside games have been more amenable to other consoles: bothPersona 5 StrikersandPersona 4 Arena Ultimaxhave released on multiple platforms, including PC and the Switch. These games haven’t made their way to the Xbox, however, suggesting that Atlus didn’t consider Microsoft’s consoles as a priority.
Soul Hackers 2changes that. WhileSoul Hackers 2skips the Switch, it will be available on the Xbox One and Xbox Series X, thoroughly establishing it as an Xbox title. This is the first time in recent history that Atlus has signaled an interest in the Xbox, and based on its recent growth on PC and Switch, it may not be the last. It wouldn’t be surprising ifSoul Hackers 2is meant to be only the first of several Atlus RPGs to release on Xbox consoles. Although it’s unclear what game Atlus might have around the corner afterSoul Hackers 2, it could readily return toPersona 5to cement its presence on Microsoft’s consoles.
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Extending the Persona Franchise’s Reach
Getting thePersonaseries on the Xbox certainly wouldn’t be a bad idea. Atlus could put the momentum created byPersona 5to use by making the core games available on other platforms. By establishingPersona’s presence on every major platform in that way, it would give itself good cause to releasePersona 6on multiple platforms, which could result in far more sales of the next game than evenPersona 5enjoyed.Persona 6’s eventual successcould have a lot to do with Atlus' gradual expansion onto multiple consoles.
Fans certainly shouldn’t hold their breath for aPersona 5Xbox release just yet. The Microsoft tweet is far from a confirmation of an Xbox port, and considering how long Atlus has gone withoutreleasingPersona 5on PCin spite of fan demands, it may not be bringing its recent hit to a new console just yet. Still,Soul Hackers 2’s surprising combination of platforms is a good sign that Atlus wants to givePersonaand the otherMegami Tenseigames a much broader reach than they’ve otherwise had in the last few years. HopefullySoul Hackers 2hints at a more accessible future of Atlus games.
Persona 5is available now on PS3 and PS4.
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