Publisher Perfect World and developer Black Wings have announced Persona 5: The Phantom X for iOS and Android. A free-to-play game with in-app purchases, playtests for the new Persona 5 spin-off will start on March 29 in China.
The Phantom X’s style and gameplay is exactly the same as in Persona 5, but the game’s user experience will be tailored for mobile gamers. Atlus is supervising the game’s development.
Persona 5: The Phantom X follows a new group of Phantom Thieves and focuses on the theme of “desire.” Like in Persona 5, the protagonist in The Phantom X can participate in classes during the school day and do activities like watching movies and playing baseball. After school, the new Phantom Thieves can infiltrate the Metaverse and the accompanying Palaces.
A brand new gameplay trailer was released, featuring Lyn’s song, “Life Will Change” from Persona 5. Designed by Atlus’s Shigenori Soejima, the protagonist wields a singular pistol in battle, and his currently unnamed Persona wields two shotguns with hook grooves at the ends. There are also what appears to be two female Phantom Thieves, one wielding a crossbow and the other a rifle.
Whereas Persona 5’s mascot was the black cat Morgana, The Phantom X’s animal mascot is an owl who wields dual tonfas as its weapon of choice. There are also some familiar characters, such as Igor, as well as what looks to be a brand new attendant in the Velvet Room.
In many respects, it looks basically the same as the original game, but with a handful of new characters.
No release date has been announced for The Persona 5: Phantom X yet. Atlus hasn’t announced any big upcoming projects this year so far aside from the Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection, and Project Re: Fantasy is still in development.
Persona 5 was first released in North America in 2017, earning widespread acclaim and a new generation of fans. Persona 3 Portable, Persona 4 Golden, and Persona 5 Royal were all re-released on modern platforms recently, so fans are eager to know what’s next for the series.
George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. He’s been writing about the industry since 2019 and has worked with other publications such as Insider, Kotaku, NPR, and Variety.
When not writing about video games, George is playing video games. What a surprise! You can follow him on Twitter @Yinyangfooey
