Persona 5 has had such a huge impact on the Persona franchise that it only seems natural that Atlus gets the most out of Persona 5 and its characters while it can. So far, Atlus' efforts to capitalize on Persona 5's popularity have gone well. The expanded edition Persona 5 Royal and the spinoff Persona 5 Strikers are also big hits, and the Phantom Thieves have achieved all kinds of far-reaching appearances in other games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. In spite of all the Phantom Thieves have achieved, though, fans are still hopeful that Atlus might have more in store for these characters. A mysterious pair of domain names labeled P5AG and P5U could suggest that Atlus actually does have more plans.

Historically, Atlus registered Japanese domain names for Persona games well in advance of their releases. There's sites registered for Persona 5 as well as Persona 5 Royal and its other spinoffs. However, a pair of domains called P5AG.JP and P5U.JP have so far gone unused since they were claimed in April 2017. These domain names getting registered would suggest more Persona 5 spinoffs, but what exactly could Atlus be planning? Why haven't fans heard about these games yet? Although Atlus hasn't confirmed or denied any potential use for these sites, there's a couple very enticing and perhaps even likely possibilities. Warning: Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal spoilers ahead!

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P5U is definitely an odd one. It's hard to imagine at a glance what Atlus could be planning to do with that name. However, Persona veterans probably remember one major spinoff that the Persona series got before: Persona 4 Arena, a fighting game that brought together characters from both Persona 4 and Persona 3. A while after the original game came out, Atlus released an upgraded version called Persona 5 Arena Ultimax. If that's anything to go off of, P5U could be meant to stand for Persona 5 Arena Ultimax -- in other words, it could hint at a Persona 5 fighting game.

A Persona 5 fighting game would undoubtedly be a big hit with hardcore fans. The fanbase is craving more content starring the Phantom Thieves, and Atlus seems increasingly inclined to deliver. Even if it's a short and fairly simple game, if it's anything like Persona 4 Arena, then Persona 5 Arena would be a great way to introduce the Phantom Thieves to yet another game style aside from dancing and action RPG. Persona 5 Strikers has thoroughly proven so far that the Persona 5 cast doesn't mind being ported to real-time action, so a fighting game doesn't even seem like much of a stretch.

2021 would be a great year for Atlus to come forward with a Persona 5 fighting game too. Atlus promised last year that 2021 -- the 25th anniversary of the Persona franchise -- would be celebrated thoroughly. So far there hasn't been much new Persona content released, but if Persona 5 Arena Ultimax got released sometime this year, it'd go a long way in restoring excitement in the Persona fanbase. The renewal of the P5U.JP domain might indicate that Persona 5 Arena Ultimax is not only still in the works but coming out soon.

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While there's one strong potential answer for what P5U could mean, P5AG is a little weirder. Some Persona 5 fans already have a theory about what it means, though, and it'd be huge if true. Some believe that P5AG could be referring to Akechi Goro, Persona 5's Detective Prince. Although this anti-hero and rival to Joker supposedly dies in Persona 5, the expanded Persona 5 Royal intentionally makes it seem much more likely that Akechi is actually alive. If Akechi did manage to survive his fateful battle in Shido's Palace, then maybe Atlus wants to make a Persona 5 spinoff starring Akechi. It'd certainly be chilling but compelling to play a game based on Akechi's perspective of Persona 5's events, or perhaps to explore new adventures in the Metaverse that he has after escaping from the Phantom Thieves and going into hiding. Akechi comes with a ton of great storytelling opportunities.

Unfortunately, if P5AG really does imply a game about Akechi or even some other spinoff, its fate is uncertain right now. Although the P5U domain got renewed recently, P5AG didn't, and it's set to expire soon. That doesn't necessarily mean that the game is cancelled -- maybe Atlus has developed a more specific title for the mysterious P5AG and wants to aim for a different domain, or it'll simply reuse some other domain. However, it has to be acknowledged that it could also mean Atlus things some other Persona 5 project like the hypothetical Persona 5 fighting game is more important. Although that would be a practical step for Atlus to take, it might result in widespread disappointment among Persona 5 fans if they find out Atlus cancelled an interesting project. Hopefully fans at least get some clues someday about what exactly P5AG was or could've become.

Whatever they may be, these domains surely mean something for the future of Persona. They're too similar to the domain names of things like Persona 5 Strikers to just be coincidentally named. It's worth noting that these are only a few of a list of domain names that Atlus has been sitting on for a long time. Oddly enough, there are generic Persona domain names numbered 8 through 10, which are probably codenames rather than indicative of real names, considering how far away Persona is from Persona 8, let alone Persona 10. Since these domains are so nebulous, the more specific domain names of P5U and P5AG are more compelling and perhaps indicative of projects closer to release.

P5AG's fate is unknown for now, but it seems there's hope for P5U. Summer is coming up, and it's always a fantastic time for big game reveals. Maybe Atlus has kept quiet on purpose so that it can surprise and delight Persona fans with announcements in the middle of the year. Then the rest of the year, including the lucrative holidays, could be filled with Persona celebrations and the content Persona fans have been craving all this time. The renewal of the P5U domain name certainly puts a new interesting twist on Atlus' silence on its major RPG franchise. Hopefully P5U really is indicative of more Persona 5 spinoffs, and that the wait for a reveal is almost over

Persona 5 is available now for PS3 and PS4.

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