Persona 5 has been out for 6 years already. We are long overdue Persona 6. The JRPG series usually takes place in a high school with the main character being a student. Having to balance saving the World against normal everyday student life. Which can be difficult. So where is Persona 6? And when can we expect it to be released?
Persona 6 Release Date
There is currently no solid news on when Persona 6 will be released. However a trusted video game news leaker mentioned on their podcast that we will get an announcement sometime this year.
If we look back at Persona 5, it took 5 years from 2011 to 2016 to develop. If we were to base it just on this development cycle. We would expect the game to be released late last year or early this year.
But games are becoming far more complicated beasts to develop. The Persona 3 to Persona 4 development time only took 2 years. So every new iteration of the series doubles the previous development time. With that expectation, it would be closer to 2026 before Persona 6 is released.
Personally, if we are getting an announcement this year, the latest we would expect to see is next year. Again with previous instalments, when the game is announced is usually the same year.
25th Anniversary
It was Persona’s 25th Anniversary last year. I can’t believe it has already been around for that long. And most people didn’t know of it until it came out on the PSP. Persona 4 Golden exposed the game to a lot of handheld players on the PS Vita. It was justifiable to get a Vita just to explore the Persona World.
Already it has been announced that a number of games will be coming to PC. Such as Persona 3. Exposing more fans to the older titles. Hopefully this will have little impact on Persona 6’s release window.
Will Persona 6 have the Joker?
Not Joker from the DC universe but Joker from Persona 5. It is unlikely that Persona 6 will have Joker involved. Each new numbered instalment of Persona brings with it a new cast of characters and set of locations.
But I also wouldn’t rule him out completely. Japanese developers love to tap into the nostalgia of previous games. There may be an Easter Egg or maybe even a few hidden characters. If not the character, his mask may be an equipable item.
What Colour Theme will Persona 6 Have?
Previous instalments of Persona had a primary colour that was easily recognisable for each game. Persona 4 had a very bright yellow colour, which was further used in the Golden version. While Persona 6 had a bright red colour.
Fans are speculating that it will be green. However there is also speculation that the colour theme idea may be past its sell by date. As there are only so many colours you can use to differentiate between the various games.
What will Persona 6’s Gimmick Be?
Each instalment of Persona comes with its own gimmick, its own themes. Persona 3 was a battle against the late hour and depression. Persona 4 was a murder mystery while the Perona world was inside a TV. And Persona 5 was a story of thieves.
There are many places left to explore and I can’t imagine how you come up with such a unique setting when using similar thematic features.
Maybe they could go down the route of Disney’s Frozen. Making fun of or commentating on the same anime tropes that we’ve experienced in the past few years. Such as a male character who gets on with everyone.
It would also be nice for the main character to not be such a blank slate. Give him a bit of personality. Reward players for sticking to decisions the character would make on their own. While also penalizing them if it isn’t the morally right choice. I.E. Increasing his Persona’s stats when you stick with his personality. But make the game significantly harder if he upsets the wrong people.
