The Phantom Thieves of Hearts might finally make their long-awaited jump to a new platform, as Persona 5 for Xbox is being teased by an industry insider. Persona 5 is one of the most highly-acclaimed games of the previous console generation, yet it has remained a PS4 exclusive, save for a brief PC release when it was available on PSNow.
Persona developer Atlus has typically kept the mainline Persona games on PlayStation systems and the Shin Megami Tensei games on Nintendo platforms, with a few exceptions, like SMT 3. It seems that the company is finally changing this way of thinking and is looking to go multiplatform in the future. Atlus recently sent out a survey to fans, asking what platforms they would like to see its games appear on. This stoked the fires of hope for Persona 5 appearing on Nintendo Switch, especially as Persona 5 Strikers appeared on the system.
Microsoft has been turning the Xbox Series X/S into an RPG machine, with the Fallout/Elder Scrolls games appearing on Game Pass as part of the ZeniMax acquisition, a deal with Square Enix that brought lots of Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts games to the system, and the recent release of an Xbox version of Undertale. Another huge RPG could be coming to Xbox systems. Industry insider Jez Corden from Windows Central responded to a tweet about Persona 5 coming to Xbox with a smiley face, prompting speculation that a port was on the way. This should still be treated as rumor and speculation until a formal announcement is made by Atlus or Microsoft.
Fans have speculated that Atlus has been looking to expand the Persona series to other platforms, following the success of Persona 4 Golden on Steam. It's unclear which version of Persona 5 could come to Xbox systems, but the most likely candidate is Persona 5 Strikers, as this is already a multiplatform release. Persona 5 Strikers is a sequel to Persona 5, but Atlus isn't bothered about people being left behind in terms of its story, as it's already available on PC and Nintendo Switch, neither of which have Persona 5.
Atlus has the chance to expand even further if it brings some of its classic RPGs to modern platforms and starts to embrace a multiplatform approach for its new games. Fans have been petitioning Atlus to bring games like Persona 5 to different platforms for years, and the time for a Persona port on Xbox systems might soon be here.
Source: Jez Corden