Persona 5 will receive a mobile spin-off with new characters

You read that right, Persona 5 is releasing again, this time as a mobile and PC game, although it does feature new characters.

If I got a nickel every time Persona 5 comes out again, I don’t even know how many nickels I’d have because it’s happened so many times. I know I’ll have another one as Persona 5: The Phantom X has just been unveiled, an adaptation of specifically the fifth installment in the series, which will be released on iOS, Android and Windows. However, there is potentially a small snag as there is currently no word on a release for the game outside of China.

According to IGN, the spin-off will get a playtest starting March 29 in China, and appears to be a complete sequel to the original game. This time you’ll be playing as a new band, the Phantom Thieves (sorry to those who love the original team), and the main theme will be “desire”. As a mobile game, it will be free-to-play with in-app purchases, though it’s not yet clear how those will play out.

Not surprisingly, you can do everything you can do in Persona: go to school during the day and watch movies or play baseball in the evening. And, of course, you will also be able to infiltrate the Metaverse and the various Palaces. Based on some of the art shown for the game, the original cast will also show up at some point.

The game is being developed by Black Wings Game Studio and not by P-Studio itself, but publisher Perfect World Games said in a press release that Atlus is involved in the development, and Persona character designer Shigenori Soejima helped create Phantom X’s protagonist.

If you want the Persona fix to last until news of an international release arrives, Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden are both available on Game Pass right now, though whether the former holds up is a matter of debate.