Persona 5 is a role-playing video game released in 2016 by P-Studio. It is the sixth game in the Persona series, which is part of the larger Megami Tensei franchise. Atlus published the game in Japan and North America, while Deep Silver published it in PAL territories. It was first released for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 in Japan on September 15, 2016, and worldwide on April 4, 2017. An improved version called Persona 5 Royal was released by Atlus for PlayStation 4 in Japan on October 31, 2019. Sega, the parent company of Atlus, published the Royal version globally on March 31, 2020. Royal was later released on PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and Windows on October 21, 2022.
Like other games in the series, players battle enemies called Shadows using special powers called Personas, which are linked to the characters' thoughts and emotions. The game combines role-playing, exploration, and social simulation. The story takes place in modern-day Tokyo and follows a high school student named Joker, who is unfairly accused of a crime, placed on probation, and moved to a new school in Yongen-Jaya. Over time, Joker and other students gain special powers and form a secret group called the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. This group enters a magical world called the Metaverse, which is created from people's subconscious desires, to remove harmful thoughts from adults. The game’s themes focus on freedom from societal restrictions. The story was inspired by picaresque fiction, and the characters’ Personas are based on literary figures known for rebellion.
Persona 5 was first announced in 2013 and developed by P-Studio, a team within Atlus led by Katsura Hashino. Other returning team members included character designer Shigenori Soejima and music composer Shoji Meguro. Development began during the creation of Persona 4 and continued after the release of Catherine in 2011. The game was originally planned for a 2014 release but faced delays because it was not finished.
Persona 5 received a lot of praise for its visuals, gameplay, story, characters, and music. The Royal version also received praise for its new content. Including Royal, Persona 5 is the best-selling game in the Megami Tensei franchise, with over 10.45 million copies sold by March 2025. Critics have called Persona 5 one of the greatest video games ever made. Media related to the game, such as four spin-off games, manga, anime, and appearances in other games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, have been created. A sequel, Persona 5 Strikers, was released on February 20, 2020.
Gameplay
Persona 5 is a role-playing video game where the player controls a male high school student named Joker. The story follows Joker’s experiences over one year in modern-day Tokyo. The game includes a day-night cycle and weather system that influence how characters behave, similar to a social simulation game. During the year, Joker attends school and faces both planned and random events. Outside of school, he can work part-time jobs, enjoy hobbies, or create items for use in dungeons or battles. Joker’s actions in the real world affect his social statistics, which unlock more activities and choices.
Joker can build relationships with other characters through a system called "Confidants," an updated version of the "Social Link" system from earlier games. These relationships can lead to romantic options with some characters. Improving Confidant ranks with party members gives combat abilities, while improving ranks with non-party characters provides benefits like new equipment or faster experience gains.
The game includes two types of dungeon exploration in a world called the Metaverse: story-specific dungeons called Palaces and randomly generated dungeons called Mementos. Both types of dungeons are filled with Shadows, which are enemies shaped like mythological or religious figures. In Mementos, the party can complete quests given by Confidants or other characters. Players can use stealth to avoid enemies or solve puzzles using Joker’s "Third Eye" ability, which highlights objects and enemy weaknesses. Palaces contain "Safe Rooms," where players can save their progress or travel quickly to other Safe Rooms.
The game uses a turn-based combat system. Battles begin when the party encounters enemies or launches an ambush for an advantage. During battles, players use weapons and summon Personas, which are powerful forms of the characters’ inner thoughts used for special attacks. Hitting an enemy’s weakness knocks it down and gives the player an extra turn. If all enemies are knocked down, the party can perform a "Hold Up" to attack all enemies at once, demand items, or convince a Shadow to join Joker’s team. A character is knocked out when they lose all health, and the game ends if Joker is knocked out.
New Personas can be obtained through battles or negotiations. Different Persona types are linked to Confidant relationships and are represented by specific themes called "arcana." Personas can be combined in the Velvet Room, a special area Joker visits, through a process called "Guillotine." The resulting Persona gains skills and stats from its parent Personas. More skills are inherited based on how many skills the parent Personas have, and the strength of the new Persona depends on the level of its Confidant link. Personas can be used to gain experience points by "Hanging" them, create high-end items by sending them to the "Electric Chair," or train them in "Solitary Confinement" to gain skills faster.
The game includes online features through the "Thieves Guild," where players can view other players’ daily activities or help them in the Metaverse.
Synopsis
Persona 5 is set in the Persona universe and follows a group of high school students who use Personas, which are visible forms of their inner thoughts. The story begins in April "20XX (2016)" and lasts about a year. It takes place in modern-day Tokyo and includes real places like Akihabara, Shinjuku, and Shibuya. A key location is Shujin Academy, the school attended by the main character. Another important setting is the "Metaverse," a magical world that shows people's hidden desires. In the Metaverse, people with bad desires create their own "Palace," which looks like a twisted version of a real place, along with a Shadow version of themselves that holds a "Treasure" representing their desires. The Velvet Room, a place where Persona users grow and changes appearance based on who is there, appears as a prison in Persona 5.
The main character is a silent protagonist called Joker. He leads a group called the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, who use the Metaverse to change the hearts of criminals and others who do harm. He is joined by Ryuji Sakamoto, a school delinquent; Ann Takamaki, a fashion model; and Morgana, a mysterious cat-like creature. As the story progresses, the group adds more members, including Yusuke Kitagawa, an art student; Makoto Niijima, the student council president; Futaba Sakura, a hikikomori hacker; and Haru Okumura, a corporate heiress. Other characters include Goro Akechi, a detective; Sae Niijima, a public prosecutor and Makoto’s older sister; and Igor, along with his assistants Caroline and Justine, who live in the Velvet Room.
The story is told partly through flashbacks during Sae Niijima’s interrogation of the protagonist. After stopping an attack, the protagonist is falsely accused and put on probation for a year, leading to his expulsion from school. He moves to Tokyo to live with Sojiro Sakura, a family friend, and attend Shujin Academy. There, he enters the Velvet Room, where Igor and his assistants warn him he must change or face ruin. They give him a supernatural app, which leads him to the Metaverse and the Palace of Suguru Kamoshida, a corrupt gym teacher. There, he meets Ryuji, who was attacked by Kamoshida and later helps the protagonist.
After escaping Kamoshida’s Shadow form, the protagonist awakens his Persona, Arsène, to save Ryuji. They meet Morgana, who explains that stealing a "Treasure" from a Palace can change a person’s heart. Later, the group learns about Kamoshida’s abuse and decides to steal his Treasure. Ann Takamaki, who was forced into a relationship with Kamoshida, joins the group after accidentally entering the Metaverse. The Phantom Thieves of Hearts form to stop corruption in Tokyo, uncovering a larger conspiracy involving powerful people.
The group grows by helping others, including Yusuke, Makoto, Futaba, and Haru. They gain public attention but face challenges when a masked assassin frames them for Haru’s father’s death. Goro Akechi joins the group and convinces them to change Sae’s heart to prove their innocence. After infiltrating Sae’s Palace, Joker is captured, and Sae interrogates him. Joker convinces her of the truth, and Akechi is revealed as the assassin. He sacrifices himself to protect the group and allow them to defeat Masayoshi Shido, the conspiracy’s leader, who framed Joker and plans to become prime minister. Despite Shido’s arrest, public opinion remains unchanged.
The Phantom Thieves enter Mementos, the public’s Palace, to steal its Treasure, hoping to change people’s hearts. Inside, they find the public has given up free will and believes being controlled will save them. They are expelled by the Treasure, the Holy Grail, and vanish as the Metaverse merges with reality. In the Velvet Room, Igor claims Joker failed, but Caroline and Justine remember their true identities and join Lavenza. They reveal Igor was actually Yaldabaoth, a god who trapped the real Igor. Yaldabaoth, the sentient Holy Grail, was created from humanity’s desire to be ruled. Through a deal with Igor, Yaldabaoth gave Joker and Akechi powers but ensured Joker would fail.
Development
The game was created by P-Studio, a team inside Atlus that works on the Persona series. Planning for the game started in 2008 after the release of Persona 4. Full development began in 2011 after the release of Catherine. It took five years to make the game. The series director, Katsura Hashino, joined the project later, after Catherine was finished. He said Catherine was a test for the next Persona game. Hashino was the leader of P-Studio for this game, but after it was made, he started a new team called Studio Zero. When the game started, there were about 40 people on the team. Later, the team grew to 70 people, including 15 planners, 15 programmers, and between 30 and 45 designers. One of the designers, Naoya Maeda, had worked on the Trauma Center series before. Making the game was difficult because the team changed how they worked to use the new, more powerful technology.
The game kept the turn-based battle system from earlier games, but early plans included a new action-based system with real-time elements. This idea was not used, but some real-time features were added to the battle system. A new feature was unique dungeons with fixed layouts instead of randomly generated ones, which helped match the game’s themes and give players a new experience. A feature from earlier Persona games and the Megami Tensei series, called Negotiation, was brought back. Hashino decided to include it after fans said it was important to the series. The Negotiation system was linked to the idea of Shadows as hidden parts of the mind. The "Hold Up" function was inspired by scenes in movies where someone holds people at gunpoint. These features were added to celebrate the series’ history. The game’s weather and environments were designed to look like the real world. The dungeon layouts were split into three types: areas in Tokyo, places like Joker’s high school, and dungeon settings. Some parts of the game take control away from the player, except for limited choices, to show the controlled life of Japanese high schoolers.
Unlike Catherine, which used the Gamebryo engine, Persona 5 used a custom engine developed by Atlus. Hashino believed the new engine would help make the game’s ideas easier to create, even though it made fans wait longer for the game. Atlus also made the software for creating scenes in the game, which included about 1,160 scenes. Tools for making and managing scenes were improved to use better technology. Character models were made with a special shading technique called a cel-shader, which helped match the game’s art style and allowed easier changes to lighting. Characters were first made to look realistic, like in Catherine, but the team felt this was not right for the Persona series. After testing, they found a style that worked for the characters, menus, and other designs. Unlike Persona 4, which had limited body shapes because of older technology, Persona 5 used better tools to create unique models for all characters. Two models were used for main characters: one for real-time scenes and another for general scenes and gameplay. Persona 5 was the first game in the series to include many Personas in high definition, which was a big challenge for the team.
The story was written by Hashino, with help from Shinji Yamamoto and Yuichiro Tanaka. The original idea was different from Persona 3 and 4, focusing on themes like self-discovery and journeys. At first, the story was about a global backpacking trip, but after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Hashino changed the setting to focus on Japan. The game’s themes were influenced by how the Japanese government and people responded to the disaster. Hashino wanted the story to show how people come together during hard times. He said the game’s main theme was about freedom and how the characters find it. He also wanted the game to be easier for new players to understand and to give players a strong emotional experience.
The story of Persona 5 was designed like a collection of different stories. The development team was inspired by the Chinese novel Water Margin, the Japanese movie Hakuchuu no Shikaku, and the Spanish novel Lazarillo de Tormes. The game’s style was compared to picaresque fiction, which tells stories about characters who travel and face challenges. The team asked how a character like Lupin III might be popular today. This theme showed in how characters in the game use fusion and sacrifice, which were based on styles of punishment. The team used a more "stereotypical" theme to create unexpected story moments, mixing modern drama with the Persona series’ world. The idea of "masks" was used more clearly in the game’s plot than in earlier games. The game’s main locations were based on real places.
According to Hashino, the main characters feel they do not belong in society, but the game gives them a sense of belonging. Hashino said that unlike earlier games, where the heroes chased the villains, Persona 5 would focus more on the villains chasing the heroes. The characters are described as "juvenile academics" who break from society’s rules by becoming thieves. The game’s goal was to show the characters finding the courage to challenge old rules. Unlike earlier games, the team in Persona 5 willingly takes on the role of masked vigilantes instead of being forced into it. The cast was originally larger, but the story was already complex, so one character, Hifumi Togo, was made optional.
Release
Persona 5 was first introduced with a short video called a teaser trailer in November 2013. At the same time, other related games were announced, including Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, Persona 4: Dancing All Night, and a version of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax for the PlayStation 3. The game was originally planned to release in late 2014 only for the PlayStation 3. However, during a Sony event in September 2014, it was announced that the game would also be released for the PlayStation 4 and that the release date was pushed back to 2015. The game’s director, Katsura Hashino, explained that the delay allowed the team to fully prepare the game for the PlayStation 4 and improve the quality of both versions. A first gameplay video was shown during a live online event on February 5, 2015. The music in this video was an instrumental version of the game’s main theme. A special Blu-ray Disc with an exclusive trailer was included with early copies of Persona 4: Dancing All Night in Japan on June 25, 2015. At the 2015 Tokyo Game Show, a live stream revealed that the game’s release was delayed again to late 2016. Hashino apologized for the delay and said it was needed to ensure the game met high-quality standards.
In April 2016, Atlus started a countdown that ended on May 5, 2016. Soon after, a live stream called "Take Tokyo Tower" was announced, which matched the countdown date. During this event, a trailer showed the game’s final release date. Persona 5 was released in Japan on September 15, 2016. A standard version and a 20th Anniversary Edition were available. The Anniversary Edition included all downloadable content (DLC) from Persona 3 and Persona 4, a five-CD music collection from all six main games in the series, and an official artbook designed by Soejima. To celebrate the release, a new segment called "Persona Stalker Club V" was added to the series-focused variety show Persona Stalker Club. To promote the game in Japan, Atlus partnered with AKG Acoustics to create limited-edition wireless headphones inspired by the game’s character Futaba. These headphones came with art by Soejima and a music CD with remixed tracks by Meguro and Kozuka. Character-themed clothing was also released in Japan in early 2018.
After its release, additional character costumes and Personas were made available as paid DLC. These included costumes based on Persona 3 and Persona 4, as well as new designs from other games like Revelations: Persona, Persona 2, and Shin Megami Tensei IV. Each costume set included music from the respective game, which replaced the default battle theme. Some key Personas from Persona 3 and Persona 4 were released in bundles showing both new and original designs. Additional content included PlayStation 4 themes and avatar sets based on Persona 5’s main characters. A new difficulty setting called "Merciless" was also released as free DLC.
The game’s North American release date was set for February 14, 2017, announced a week before E3 2016. Its release in Europe and Australia was planned for the same date in August 2016. However, the release was pushed back two months to April 4, 2017, because Atlus wanted to ensure the game met the highest quality standards. Atlus USA published the game in North America, while Deep Silver handled the European and Australian releases. The English localization was managed by Atlus USA, led by Yu Namba. Namba said the team chose the English voice cast from scratch because the game’s setting was new for the Persona series. He described the localization project as the largest ever for the series. In English-speaking regions, the title "Shin Megami Tensei" was removed from the game’s name. The Japanese dub was also made available as free DLC.
After the game’s worldwide release, Atlus shared guidelines for players who streamed footage of the game. The rules warned that sharing content past a certain in-game date could lead to penalties like content ID claims or account suspensions. Many critics found these rules too strict, and Atlus later apologized, updating the policy to allow more streaming.
Persona 5 Royal, released in Japan as Persona 5: The Royal, is an improved version of the game, similar to Persona 4 Golden. This version adds a new Phantom Thief member named Kasumi Yoshizawa, a new Palace, a new city area called Kichijōji, new music, extra story and social elements, a playable third semester, and support for the PlayStation 4 Pro. It also includes subtitles in French, German, Italian, and Spanish for the first time in the series. A new opening sequence was directed by Yuichiro Hayashi and produced by MAPPA, with Domerica co-producing the new anime cutscenes. Atlus first hinted at the game as "Persona 5 R" in December 2018, with a full reveal in April 2019. It was released in Japan on October 31, 2019, and globally on March 31, 2020. Later, it was also released for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on October 21, 2022, with ports handled by Sega.
Sega took over publishing for Persona 5 Royal in Europe and Australia, replacing Deep Silver. After its release, additional character costumes and Personas were made available as paid DLC. These included designs from Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight and Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth, as well as a costume set for Kasumi. Personas from Persona 3 and 4 were also added. DLC featuring battles with the protagonists of Persona 3 and 4 was released. All DLC from the original game was made free for owners of Persona 5 Royal. Paid DLC for Royal was included for free in the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S versions. The game supports Xbox Play Anywhere on Microsoft platforms, but the PlayStation 5 version does not allow upgrades or save data transfers from the PlayStation 4 version.
Reception
Persona 5 received very high praise from critics, according to Metacritic, a website that collects reviews. Famitsu gave it a positive review, and the game earned a near-perfect score. PlayStation Official Magazine – UK called it "a great work of art." IGN's Andrew Goldfarb said Persona 5 is "a special, unforgettable experience and one of the most complex JRPGs of the last decade." RPGamer noted that Atlus, the game's developer, proved it is skilled at creating modern JRPGs with great style, fun gameplay, and a meaningful story. The game's graphics and art design were also highly praised.
Some critics pointed out that the English version of the game had a few issues. Polygon described the English localization as "not very good." Another concern was how the game handled LGBTQ topics. Kenneth Shepard of Paste magazine said the game was not inclusive of LGBTQ identities and mentioned a scene with a gay couple that was treated as a joke. These scenes were changed in the Western version of Persona 5 Royal, which was released later. Shepard and Laura Dale of Polygon said the changes were a small improvement, but the game still did not fully include LGBTQ identities. Some critics also said the game's length might be too long for some players.
Persona 5 Royal received very high praise from critics, according to Metacritic, and earned an even higher score than the original game. It is one of the top-rated PlayStation 4 games on Metacritic, along with Naughty Dog's The Last of Us Remastered. IGN listed it as one of the best modern role-playing games. Famitsu praised the new features in Royal. Michael Higham of GameSpot said the new music, characters, and added third semester improved the original game, which ended too quickly. He called Royal "a great game that builds on what was already good" and "an unforgettable RPG." Leana Hafer of IGN said Royal is "a great example of how to improve an already excellent game." She praised the changes to the Mementos dungeons, saying they made the game feel more alive.
Sales of Persona 5 increased after the release date of Final Fantasy XV was delayed. Sales on Amazon Japan rose by 450%, making it the second-best-selling game on their charts. In its first week, the PS4 version sold 264,793 units, and the PS3 version sold 72,974 units, totaling 337,767 units. This made Persona 5 the fastest-selling game in the series' history. By September 2016, sales reached over 550,000 units worldwide. In Japan, the game became Atlus' best-selling title.
Outside Japan, Persona 5 had the biggest debut for any Persona game, with sales five times higher than Persona 4. It topped the PS4 charts on the PlayStation Network in April and was third on the PS3. Atlus announced it had sold 1.5 million units worldwide. By November 2017, sales reached over 2 million units, making it the best-selling game in the series. The success of Persona 5 helped increase Sega's revenue in 2017. At the 2018 PlayStation Awards, it won the Platinum Prize for selling over a million units in Asia. By December 2019, sales reached over 3.2 million units.
Persona 5 Royal sold over 400,000 units in Japan by December 2019. Combined sales of Persona 5 and Royal reached over 3.6 million units worldwide by that time. In February 2020, Royal topped sales charts in South Korea and Taiwan. In the UK, Royal debuted at number five on the sales chart. By July 2020, Royal had sold over 1.4 million units, bringing total sales of Persona 5 and Royal to over 4.6 million. By June 2021, combined sales reached over 5 million units.
When the game launched on new platforms in October 2022, the Nintendo Switch version sold 45,998 physical units, and the PlayStation 5 version sold 5,051 units. In the UK, the re-release of Royal debuted at number six on the sales chart, with most sales coming from the Nintendo Switch. By November 2022, the PlayStation 4 version of Royal sold 2.3 million units. By April 2023, sales of Royal on other platforms reached 1.7 million units, bringing total Royal sales to 4 million units and combined sales of all Persona 5 versions to 7.2 million units. By December 2023, the entire Persona 5 series, including Royal, Dancing in Starlight, Strikers, and Tactica, sold over 10 million units. By March 2025, Royal had sold 7.25 million units, bringing total sales of all Persona 5 versions to 10.45 million.
Persona 5 won two awards at the 2016 PlayStation Awards in Japan. At The Game Awards 2017, it was nominated for "Game of the Year," "Best Art Direction," "Best Score/Music," and "Best Role Playing Game," and won "Best Role Playing Game." It also won the Award for Excellence at the Japan Game Awards 2017. GameSpot named it the second-best game of 2017, behind The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. IGN's 2017 end-of-year awards named it "Best RPG," and it was also nominated for other categories. The game was nominated for "Best International Game" at the 2017 Ping Awards and for "Best Music" and "Best Style" by Giant Bomb. In 2024, a cover of "Last Surprise" by The 8-Bit Big Band was nominated for a Grammy Award.
Persona 5 was ranked among the best games of 2017 by Eurogamer, Polygon, The Verge, GamesRadar+, and Electronic Gaming Monthly. Destructoid nominated it for "Best PS4 Game" in its 2017 awards. Game Informer staff named it "Best Role-Playing Game" and "Best Narrative" and "Best Cast" in 2017. In their reader's choice awards, it was voted "Best Role-Playing Game" and placed second for "Best Sony Game" and third for "Game of the Year." At the 21st Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, it was nominated for "Role-Playing Game
Legacy
Since its release, Persona 5 has been considered one of the greatest role-playing games ever made and one of the greatest games of all time. In 2017, Edwin Garcia from Nerdist said the game was "one of the best RPGs of the past few years" and believed it "belongs among the greatest of all time." Alex Donaldson from VG247 compared Persona 5 to other well-known RPGs like Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VII and said it reminded people of the best times for the RPG genre. In 2023, Willa Rowe from Inverse called Persona 5 "one of the best RPGs in recent memory" and said it was the best heist game, praising how the game focused on planning and carrying out heist missions. Reporters noted that Persona 5 influenced other games, including Metaphor: ReFantazio (2024) by Atlus and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (2025) by Sandfall Interactive. Sandfall’s lead director, Guillaume Broche, and Japanese game designer Masahiro Sakurai both said the game’s stylish user interface was one of their favorites.
Persona 5 and its sequel, Persona 5 Royal, have been listed on many critic rankings of the best games ever made. In 2019, IGN ranked Persona 5 at #78 on its list of the top 100 games of all time and placed Persona 5 Royal at #81 on its 2021 list. IGN also ranked Persona 5 at #50 on its list of the 100 best RPGs. In 2017, Famitsu readers voted Persona 5 as the greatest game of all time. USA Today’s gaming section, For The Win, listed Persona 5 at #11, and GQ ranked it at #64 in a similar list in 2023.
A special anime episode titled Persona 5: The Animation – The Day Breakers aired in Japan on September 3, 2016. Created by A-1 Pictures, this episode takes place during the events of the game and is described as a "sub event" separate from the main story. A manga version of Persona 5 by Hisato Murasaki began online in September 2016. An anime television series titled Persona 5: The Animation, produced by CloverWorks, started in April 2018. Stage plays based on Persona 5 titled Persona 5: The Stage have been performed in Japan, with music composed by Atsushi Kitajoh.
A rhythm game called Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight features the main characters from Persona 5 and was released in 2018 for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita. The same characters also appear in Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth, released in 2018 for Nintendo 3DS. Persona 5 Strikers, an action role-playing sequel to Persona 5 co-developed with Omega Force, was released in Japan in 2020 and worldwide in 2021 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Windows. A tactical role-playing game called Persona 5 Tactica was released in 2023. A mobile game titled Persona 5: The Phantom X was announced in 2023 for Android and iOS, developed by Black Wings Game Studio and published by Perfect World Games. P-Studio is helping with the game’s development. In Persona 5: The Phantom X, characters from Persona 5 called the Phantom Thieves can be summoned by the player using a gacha system.
Joker, the main character of Persona 5, appears as a playable character in the 2018 crossover fighting game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate through downloadable content (DLC). The game’s director, Masahiro Sakurai, is a fan of the Persona series and said Joker represented the kind of unique and fun characters he wanted to include in Ultimate’s DLC. Other characters and elements from Persona 5 have also appeared in other games.