Persona 5

Persona 5 is a role-playing game with social simulation elements, developed by P-Studio, an internal studio at Atlus, and it is the sixth main entry in the Persona series, which began as a spin-off of Megami Tensei. Atlus published it in Japan and North America, while Deep Silver handled Europe and Australia. It launched for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 in Japan on September 15, 2016, and reached the rest of the world on April 4, 2017. An expanded edition, Persona 5 Royal, came out in Japan on October 31, 2019, and worldwide on March 31, 2020, with further platforms added on October 21, 2022.

The story takes place in present-day Tokyo over roughly one school year. Its protagonist, a high school student known by the codename Joker, is put on probation after being falsely accused of assault, moves to the Yongen-Jaya neighborhood, and enrolls at Shujin Academy. He and several classmates gain the power to summon Personas and form the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, a vigilante group that travels into the Metaverse, a supernatural realm shaped by people’s hidden desires. Corrupt adults there have their own Palaces, and the group steals the Treasure inside each one to change its owner’s heart. Much of the plot is told as flashbacks while prosecutor Sae Niijima questions Joker.

Each in-game day is split between ordinary life and dungeon exploration. Following a calendar with day, night and weather, Joker attends class, takes part-time jobs, crafts items and builds relationships called Confidants, which raise his social stats and unlock perks both in and out of battle. In the Metaverse, the party explores story Palaces with fixed layouts as well as Mementos, a randomly generated dungeon, and can use stealth to slip past Shadows. Combat is turn-based: striking a weakness knocks an enemy down and grants an extra turn, and knocking down every foe starts a Hold Up, where the party can unleash an All-Out Attack, demand money or items, or persuade a Shadow to become a new Persona. Personas can be fused and trained in the Velvet Room.

An online feature called the Thieves Guild lets players see what others chose to do on a given day. In Japan, a 20th Anniversary Edition bundled downloadable content based on Persona 3 and Persona 4 with a five-CD music collection and an artbook. After launch, Atlus sold extra costumes and Personas as paid downloads, added a free Merciless difficulty setting, and offered the Japanese voice track as a free download for the English release. Persona 5 Royal builds on the original with a new Phantom Thief, Kasumi Yoshizawa, an extra Palace, the Kichijoji district, new music and an additional third semester of story.

Work on the game began during the making of Persona 4, and full production started after Atlus finished Catherine in 2011. Katsura Hashino directed it, with Shigenori Soejima designing the characters and Shoji Meguro composing the score. First announced in November 2013, it was delayed several times before release. Metacritic lists its reviews as universal acclaim, and it won Best Role Playing Game at The Game Awards 2017. Counting Royal, the game had sold 11.8 million copies by June 2026, making it the best-selling title in the Megami Tensei franchise.