The Next Persona Game Has Been Revealed, And It’s A Major Letdown
The next Persona is a mobile gaming spin-off titled Persona 5: The Phantom X rather than a new game.
When Perfect World Games and Black Dog Wings announced a new game, everyone expected a sequel to the record-breaking Persona 5. Now, almost two years later, following the original announcement, Perfect World Games revealed Persona 5: The Phantom X—a spin-off to the 2016 original, aimed at the smartphone market. Though a major letdown for sequel-anticipating fans, the upcoming release goes to show just how strong the smartphone gaming market is, as more and more AAA franchises, such as Warcraft, continue to launch titles aimed at mobile gaming.
According to Escapist Magazine, the upcoming Persona game isn’t a sequel to Persona 5 but rather a full-blown Persona RPG for Android and iOS devices. It’s a massive letdown for the franchise’s fandom, which hasn’t seen a new mainline release since the launch of 2016’s Persona 5—no, we’re not counting Persona 5 Royal, which is an enhanced version of the game for current-gen gaming hardware. Unfortunately, another letdown might be lurking behind the corner; the new Persona game has only been announced for release in China.
As of right now, there’s no indication that the game would ever hit the North American or European market. However, it’s also worth mentioning that neither the developer nor the publisher of the mobile game, along with Sega and Altus—which are credited with the mainline Persona releases—haven’t stated that the game won’t be available as a worldwide release in the future. This is, at least for the time being, good news because the Phantom X seems to be a faithful adaptation of the core Persona 5 gameplay.
In fact, the Persona 5: The Phantom X announcement trailer and gameplay trailer both actually look pretty impressive, featuring a brand new story with new characters set in a well-known environment. The game appears to be set in Tokyo, much like the original Persona 5, but with a new protagonist and a group of friends. The trailers display new Personas and Palaces, but the gameplay and combat aspects of The Phantom X remain nearly identical to the mainline installment, with players using their Personas to target enemies’ weaknesses.
Despite being a letdown in terms of not being Persona 6—something we’ll address shortly—The Phantom X really feels like Persona 5, which is somewhat impressive for a mobile RPG. So impressive, in fact, that it actually garners genuine enthusiasm from the hardcore mobile RPG community. Well, at least the game won’t be a pure mobile crash grab like Diablo Immortal, which costs over $100,000 to play correctly. Unfortunately, that’s all the information we have to share regarding this release, but with play tests starting soon in China, more information is bound to become available.
As for the Persona 5 sequel, despite all the rumors, the game remains unconfirmed by Altus and Sega—which is adapting two strange games into movies. However, some suggest that the game is already far along in production and that a reveal could come as early as Summer 2023; that the game’s teaser was already produced, and it’s awaiting a release. However, considering the current state of the industry, we wouldn’t be as surprised if the game got delayed internally.
