Persona 6 might not be official in any capacity, but it’s inevitable. Atlus is taking its sweet time utilizing the Persona 5 property, giving us spin-offs like Dancing in Starlight and Strikers, alongside Royal, which is a larger and more robust version of the original game. This treatment isn’t surprising — both Persona 3 and 4 received their fair share of alternate versions and spin-off games.
But what about Persona 6? Enough time has passed for us to deserve an inkling of its existence, but Atlus hasn’t uttered a peep. We haven’t even gotten confirmation that it’s real. However, Atlus has offered some small hints, and while the theories are far from definitive, there’s plenty of proof indicating Persona 6 is happening, so here’s everything we know so far!
Persona 6 release date
Persona 6 does not have a release date yet, but considering Persona 5 launched all the way back in 2016, we’re hoping to get news about it sometime this year or next year. There’s also a ResetEra post from someone who claims to have information that the game was recently delayed internally, adding that there’s “zero chance” that it launches in 2023. That doesn’t necessarily mean we won’t get news this year, but don’t look forward to playing it anytime soon.
The director of Persona 3, 4, and 5 is currently working on a game at Atlus called Project Re Fantasy, which was announced back in 2017. Unless Atlus is set on finding a new director for Persona 6, we’re not expecting news on it to come until we finally get our hands on Project Re Fantasy. This is assuming that the game is still happening, as six years of radio silence is not insignificant.
Persona 6 theories
There are no shortage of Persona 6 rumors, but we’re going to focus on the ones that actually have meat on their bones. While we don’t have much to go on, there’s one element we’re cognizant of when it comes to the next installment in the series: Green.
If you’re aware of the rumor, you’ll understand exactly what I’m talking about. If not, you’re probably perplexed right now, but the gist of it involves official art celebrating Persona’s 25th anniversary. This illustration features characters from all throughout the Persona series, with an empty space next to Joker, the protagonist of Persona 5.
Not only is this spot empty, but there is a green paint bucket and spray can on the floor where another person could fit. Featuring a green bucket of paint might not mean anything for most franchises, but Persona is pretty blunt about its color coordination. Persona 3 features tons of blue, 4 has plenty of yellow, and 5 is full of red.
Some might argue that it’s just a paint bucket for the sake of design, but the color green is barely present within the illustration elsewhere. It would make no sense for there to be a bucket of the one color that’s almost entirely unused within the photo, outside of a small spot in the background (I’ll get to this detail later). This almost certainly confirms that Persona 6’s primary color will be green.
You’re probably wondering why color matters, but for Persona, the primary hue of a game is prominent within many facets of its visual design and general theming. Persona 3’s blue hue wonderfully complemented its melancholic world, while Persona 4’s yellow hue gave everything a sense of uncertainty and fogginess.
Colors have distinct feelings, aesthetics and themes associated with them, and it could give us some clues on what Persona 6 will look like. Green is most commonly associated with nature, but it also has some ties with the concept of luck. Do you know what is often considered lucky? The four-leaf clover!
But only four leaves are a little boring, so how about six? Yes, if you look closely at the 25th anniversary image, the only green part of the background illustration is a six-leaf clover. Six leaves is indicative of Persona 6; the clover itself could imply themes related to luck or fate will be explored within the game.
That might be a bit of a stretch, but I do believe Atlus is cognizant of how hyper fixated its community will get on these small details, so there’s no doubt in my mind that these are intentional additions. Whenever Persona 6 gets officially revealed, we’ll probably learn if these ridiculous theories are actually true.
What I want from Persona 6
Persona is a franchise that many love, but it’s not without flaws. Not only is it lacking in LGBTQ+ representation, but most entries in the franchise have no option to play a female protagonist. The two exceptions to this are Persona 3: Portable and Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, but even then, it’s a little more complicated in the case of the former game.
Persona 6 allowing the player to choose between a male or female protagonist would be an enormous step up from the rest of the series, but I believe Atlus can go a step further and introduce LGBTQ+ characters and allow for queer relationships to flourish. This can be accomplished with something as simple as keeping all romance options open and available regardless of the player character’s gender.
I admit that expecting LGBTQ+ representation is a bit of a stretch when we can’t even play a female protagonist yet, so at the very least, I would be ecstatic if the game could let us select our gender at the start.
I would also love to see a different generation take on the Persona franchise. The last three major Persona titles have taken place in high school, and although Persona 2: Eternal Punishment had players in the shoes of a young woman, it was still linked with events occurring at a high school. It would be awesome to subvert expectations with Persona 6 and let us experience the lives of university students for once.
Bottom line
We know very little about Persona 6 outside of how it likely revolves around the color green and might involve clovers or the idea of luck in some fashion, but hopefully we’ll learn more throughout this next year.
And as details do begin to come out, I truly hope we get more representation for the LGBTQ+ community, alongside a playable female protagonist.
