Persona fans were sent into a frenzy by Atlus. The studio shared via social media a cryptic image teasing an upcoming announcement. Sadly for those expecting news of Persona 6 or something different, it's about Persona 5: The Phantom X, the gacha game developed by Black Wings Game Studio, and it's impending global release.
Posted on May 12 via Atlus West's official X account (formerly known as Twitter), an image of what appears to be a Phantom Thieves calling card with the phrase "Retake your desire" was uploaded. Fans flooded the comment section with theories and hype. Some more level-headed users immediately noticed something in the message: an owl emoji.
click to enlargeIn The Phantom X, Lufel is one of the major playable characters that also happens to be an owl, both in and out of the Metaverse. As mysterious as the message was, a previous announcement spoiled the surprise. The Japanese Atlus branch confirmed that news of an upcoming Persona 5: The Phantom X global release is set to come on May 15.
The game is already out in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and South Korea and it's expected to launch in Japan this summer according to Persona Central. News about a western launch are also expected to happen at the live event on May 15.
Persona fans have had plenty to be happy about in recent times. Last year the incredible Persona 3 Reload was an instant success for Atlus, and it's all but confirmed that a Persona 4 remake is slated to see the light of day this year.
Hopefully, the new turn-based RPG fans that got introduced to the genre with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 will check the game out when it launches.
Now all that remains is when we'll be able to see or hear official news about Persona 6. Part of me still yearns for a near-impossible Persona 5 Arena. I won't let that dream die, Atlus, and neither thousands of fans.