30 Years Ago, Atlus Would Kickstart One of the Greatest Video Game Series In History

Today, Atlus is widely associated with the Persona series, originally a sub-series of the much larger Shin Megami Tensei main series. With the recent announcement of Persona 6 and the release date of Persona 4 Revival, the series is arguably more popular now than ever before.

2026 marks the 30th anniversary of the Persona series, which began with the release of Revelations: Persona in 1996, known as Megami Ibunroku Persona in Japan. The first game would set the foundation for the entire series, from high school student protagonists to the addictive Pokémon-style of collecting and upgrading Personas.

But it wasn't until a couple of entries later that the series would mold a very specific identity that has resonated with fans ever since.

Starting with Persona 3, the series would introduce social simulation aspects and a calendar system, giving players the ability to role-play the day-to-day life of a high school student in Japan. The series would also then pivot to be much more narrative-heavy and character-focused onwards. Persona 3 Reload, a remake of the original game, is currently the most recent release in the series, which came out in February 2024.

Persona 4 (and its re-release, Persona 4 Golden) would expand on these elements even further, with Persona 4 and Golden widely being considered two of the greatest JRPGs ever made for their story, characters, gameplay, soundtrack, and emotional weight.

One more entry later, and Atlus would see the full potential of the series realized, and Persona would become a mainstream franchise. Persona 5 was released in 2016 to universal acclaim, sitting at a 93 metascore on Metacritic. The re-release, Persona 5 Royal, would sell an additional three million copies, with the total sales of Persona 5 reaching over 10 million units, according to publisher Sega.

Persona 5 is widely recognized as the game that brought back turn-based RPGs to the forefront and kickstarted a turn-based Renaissance, after many RPG developers had moved away from turn-based gameplay. The game's stylish visuals and presentation would serve as inspiration for many games to come, including Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, which is now the most awarded video game in history.

Persona 4 Revival is set to release on February 18, 2027, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. A Nintendo Switch 2 version is rumored to be in development, too.

Persona 6 has been announced with no confirmed release date, but is rumored to be released in the fall of 2027, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 16, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published June 16, 2026 at 10:27 AM.