Although Atlus hasn’t confirmed any launch platforms forPersona 6, it feels fairly safe to assume that the game will be a PlayStation star when it finally comes around. ThePersonafranchise has a long, lucrative history of PlayStation exclusivity, and so it just seems inevitable thatPersona 6will be available on its home console as usual. However,Persona’s context has changed a lot lately, due to a growing fanbase and Atlus breaking its own publishing habits. Because of recent Atlus games and future releases alike, one wonders ifPersona 6has any chance of releasing on the Xbox.
Microsoft’s Xbox Series X has no shortage of compelling exclusive RPGs on the horizon, fromBethesda’s newly unveiledStarfieldto a long-awaited reboot ofFable.Still, the Xbox Series X is a little less strong in the JRPG department. Atlus' latestPersonaannouncement suddenly establishes a strong presence for the franchise on the Xbox, which could lead to much morePersonacontent on the Xbox in the future.Personamay have done well for itself on the PlayStation so far, but Atlus has strongly started to suggest that the Xbox Series X could be a home of the nextPersonagame.
RELATED:Persona 6 Should Change the Pace of Party Member Introduction
Atlus' Recent Xbox Endeavors
Atlus' first big step towards an Xbox presence in recent memory comes fromSoul Hackers 2,a sequel toDevil Summoner: Soul Hackerscoming some 25 years after the original. The original game was mostly associated with the Sega Saturn and the original PlayStation, butSoul Hackers 2plans to release on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X, alongside less surprising PS4 and PS5 releases.Soul Hackers 2looks different from its predecessor in a lot of ways, potentially suggesting that Atlus is trying to reinvent theSoul Hackersbrand and establish it as a new franchise that spans both PlayStation and Xbox.
Now that the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase has come and gone, however,Soul Hackers 2is hardly Atlus' only Xbox ambassador.Persona 3 Portable,Persona 4 Golden,andPersona 5 Royalare all coming to PC and Xbox soon. None of these games have ever been accessible on Xbox before, instead remaining loyal to the PlayStation. Atlus is therefore making a clear large-scale effort to find newPersonafans among the Xbox audience.Persona 5has already made thePersonaaudience swell, but these ports have the power to vastly increase the market forPersonaproducts.
Over the course of the last few months, Atlus has suddenly gone from having virtually no presence on the Xbox to solidly set up for an Xbox resurgence. Atlus made it clear even before this that it’s no longer content working with the PlayStation alone; recent titles likethePersona 4 GoldenrereleaseandPersona 5 Strikershave famously reached out to platforms like PC and the Nintendo Switch. Still, the recent uptick in XboxMegami Tenseicontent is remarkable. It may be a strong sign that Atlus wantsPersona 6to release on the Xbox as well.
RELATED:Persona 6 Should Dismantle Several Franchise Traditions
Persona 6 Could Change the Franchise’s Course
For a long time,Persona 6has already seemed like a game destined to redefinePersona, even without considering its possible special place on the Xbox.Persona 6seems poised to bring widespread innovation to the franchise;Persona 5became a huge hit partially thanks to the ways it broke from franchise tradition and reworked major mechanics, soPersona 6likely also intends to establish a unique identity by rebuilding mechanical conventions and telling a surprising new story. Based on its own comments aboutthe bar thatPersona 5set forPersona 6,odds are good that Atlus will attempt to make lightning strike twice by overhaulingPersonaeven more.
Still, as special asPersona 6’s place within the franchise’s mechanical identity is, it’s potential as a brand ambassador on the Xbox is also crucial. Just a few years ago,Personahad a relatively limited international audience, but now the franchise will be more accessible than ever. Afterthe newPersonaportswarm Xbox users up to the franchise,Persona 6can unify its established PlayStation fanbase with newfound Xbox players through a totally new shared experience. IfPersona 6simultaneously releases on multiple platforms, it’ll be a true testament to how far the franchise has come in the last decade.
Atlus hasn’t confirmed anything aboutPersona 6’s platforms, of course. It could be quite a long time before fans get that information, since it sounds likePersona 6is still in very early stages of development. UnlessPersona 6gets revealedwithin thePersonaanniversary celebrationafter all, fans may find themselves waiting forPersona 6updates until long after thePersonaports release. In the meantime, though,Soul Hackers 2and the ports form an obvious pattern of newfound Xbox availability thatPersona 6could carry forward.
Persona is Beyond PlayStation Exclusivity Now
Whatever platforms it ultimately releases on,some kind of multiplatform release forPersona 6just makes sense at this point. Persona has fared well on the PlayStation, but PC and Switch users have had a taste ofPersonaand are eager for more; the same will presumably be true for Xbox fans soon. Returning to PlayStation exclusivity would be a massive disappointment for fans who have spent years demanding betterPersonaaccessibility. A PC port ofPersona 5has been in demand for quite some time, so Atlus seemingly listening to fan demand in this instance is encouraging for the fate ofPersona 6.
Even ifPersona 6doesn’t rear its head somewhere in the near future, Atlus may provide other hints that the Xbox is part ofPersona’s future. There are tons ofPersonaspinoffs likePersona 5 StrikersandPersona 4 Arena Ultimaxthat aren’t on the Xbox Series X or Xbox One yet, so maybe these games will join Xbox Game Pass alongside the core games that inspired them. All in all, Atlus' recent movements toward the Xbox are excellent news when taken with the context of its PC and Switch ventures. HopefullyPersona 3, 4,and5are only appetizers for Xbox users, rather than the main course.
MORE:Everything Announced at the 2022 Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase
