With Atlus no doubt busy working on Persona 6, as well as its new Metaphor: ReFantazio IP, it felt like it was time to say goodbye to Persona 5 after seven years of spin-offs, with Persona 5 Tactica seemingly being the final one. Die-hard fans will know, though, that there’s still one more Persona 5 game that’s yet to launch in the West, and it sounds like that could happen.
Earlier today, Sega Sammy posted financial results for its 2024 fiscal year, which naturally included details on the performance of its video game division at Sega. As spotted by VGC, Sega has stated a “future expansion in Japan and global is under consideration” for Persona 5: The Phantom X, which is a slightly more complicated way of saying it’s thinking of releasing the game worldwide.
In case you need a reminder, Persona 5: The Phantom X is a mobile and PC-only spin-off that is essentially the same game as the original Persona 5, with you and a party of rebellious teens infiltrating Palaces and summoning Personas in turn-based battles. The key differences are that it features an entirely different story and characters, and is also free-to-play, complete with a gacha system for unlocking new party members.
Instead of Atlus, the Chinese studio Black Wings Game Studio is helming development. As such, the game is currently only available in China, having launched on April 12 according to Sega, with a Korean version releasing less than a week later on April 18. There was never any confirmation that The Phantom X would come to Japan or the West, but Sega is at the very least thinking about it. Personally, I’d be more surprised if it didn’t get a wider release. The Persona series has been growing more and more popular in the West, with Persona 3 Reload becoming the fastest-selling game Atlus has ever made.
While I don’t doubt many would be put off by the free-to-play aspect and monetisation, you know some fans would put the money down to get more gacha rolls to unlock certain party members. There are a bunch in the game already, each with their own unique Phantom Thief attires and Personas, and you can even recruit the cast of the original Persona 5. Not to mention the game’s visually stunning, with the same sense of fabulous style as other Persona 5 games alongside expressive and fluid character animations. The aesthetics are obviously meant to lure you in, but I can’t help but be tempted to give The Phantom X a try for its visuals alone.
Sega is also eager to expand its operations within the mobile gaming space. It’s why it bought Angry Birds developer Rovio last year, having since put it to work on a new Sonic the Hedgehog game titled Sonic Rumble; one clearly inspired by the success of Fall Guys.
Sega doesn’t mention how The Phantom X is performing financially, only saying it’s “started off as expected,” which makes it sound like it’s at least not underperforming. If it wasn’t doing well, Sega probably wouldn’t bother considering localising it for other regions. Ideally, we won’t have to wait too much longer for Sega to decide on what to do but, even if we don’t get The Phantom X, we’re not exactly starving for Atlus RPGs. Aside from Metaphor: ReFantazio, Persona 3 Reload will be getting its Episode Aigis story DLC later this year, and both projects should keep fans satiated until Persona 6.
