Persona 6 has seemingly been confirmed by Atlus through a job listing interview.
Over the past few days, Atlus Japan posted several new job listings to a native Japanese website called Green. According to translation from Persona Central, several current Atlus developers are interviewed as part of the job listings, and Atlus director Naoto Hiroaka very casually mentions Persona 6.
"Thanks to the large amount of support we received for Persona 5, we have gotten a sense of accomplishment. But we can’t stop there. When we created Persona 4, there was pressure that it had to exceed Persona 3, says director Hiroaka. "Now, we will have to create a 6 which exceeds 5. However, exceeding 5 will be difficult with the current staff. I would like to surpass this tall hurdle with everyone who joins us in this recruitment."
This is quite the sudden confirmation of the next Persona game by Atlus. Normally, you'd expect an announcement of work commencing on the sequel to a beloved game to take place through a trailer or a specific event, but Hiroaka has taken another route entirely with confirming the next entry in the Persona franchise.
This all follows very shortly after the announcement of special celebrations later this year for Persona's 25th anniversary. Yesterday on July 13, a new teaser website went live for the forthcoming anniversary, where it was revealed that there'll be a year-long celebration taking place between Fall 2020, and Fall 2021.
The Persona series is celebrating its 25th Anniversary this September! ✨ Stay tuned for a year of Persona news, events, and more! #Persona25 pic.twitter.com/1qZqSy7f6VJuly 13, 2021
Not only this, but Atlus apparently has seven Persona-related announcements to make over the course of that year. There's absolutely no indication as to what any of these seven brand new announcements could be, but it's certainly not out of the question that Persona 6 could be one of them.
It's easy to see why Atlus, and director Hiroaka, feel under pressure with Persona 6. The last few entries in the Persona franchise have evolved in terms of scope, scale, and technology, with Persona 4 utilizing TV technology, and Persona 5 implementing smartphones and the internet into its core plot. From this point of view, it's anyone's guess as to how Atlus could expand upon Persona 5's modern technology for the next game in the franchise.
For a full line up of all the games scheduled to launch over the remainder of the year, head over to our full new games 2021 guide for more.
