The Persona series has become one of the most popular JRPG series in recent years thanks to the success of Persona 5. The series was definitely popular before P5, however, when the game released worldwide in 2017, it smashed the previous games' sales numbers to pieces. Ever since, Atlus has been riding the Persona popularity wave by making a handful of spin-off games to capitalize on Persona 5's success including Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight, Persona 5: Strikers, Persona 5 Royal, and a rumored Persona 5 fighting game. Persona 6 is reportedly in development, however, one key element might make it an even bigger hit than its predecessor: Persona 5 Royal's rumored arrival on Xbox Game Pass.
Rumors that Persona 5 or Persona 5 Royal would be leaving the PS4 and coming to other platforms have been circulating for a while, but recently Persona 5 Royal has been reportedly rated for Xbox consoles in Korea. As a result, many fans seem to think that an announcement of P5R coming to Xbox Game Pass is imminent. If this rumor is true, an Xbox port of the game would do some great things for the series and set Persona 6 up for success before it even launches.
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While an Xbox port would do the game well, if Persona 5 Royal were to be put on Game Pass, it would most likely have another explosion in popularity not seen since Persona 5's initial release. Game Pass is reported to have over 18 million subscribers which would open the window for Xbox fans to give Persona a try in a massive way. Because Game Pass subscribers are able to download as many games on the service as they like for a small subscription fee, it's likely that more people would be willing to try Persona 5 Royal as opposed to if it were simply ported to Xbox consoles for a $60 price tag.
Persona 5 has been championed as a "must play" for PS4 owners so its word of mouth as a high-quality title might also convince plenty of Xbox owners to download it. Either way, because a port has been in high demand for years, if one were to finally come, more people would be playing Persona 5 than ever before. Its rumored arrival on Game Pass would definitely give it more of a boost for those not wanting to pay full price for it, however, no matter what form it takes, it's a solid bet that it might top the charts following its launch. If it does well enough, fans might call for ports of the other games in the series which would continue its rapid growth.
Even though it might seem like it, there's been no official confirmation made public that Atlus has an exclusivity deal with Sony for the Persona series. In terms of mainline entries, the games have all come out on Sony consoles, but spinoffs like the Persona Q games and Persona 5 Strikers have released on Nintendo consoles. But because of the mainline exclusivity, fans have associated the series as being a PlayStation exclusive. That mentality might go out the window if Persona 5 makes the jump across the aisle to Xbox consoles.
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When third-party studios release games as exclusives, they're drastically reducing their potential player base size. Luckily, Atlus has been able to find success by making Persona a mostly exclusive series, but if the studio wants to expand its audience in a major way, then it makes sense to release the next mainline entry across multiple platforms. It also makes sense to do that for the release of Persona 6 with the series at the height of its popularity.
Between Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal, the game has sold over 4 million copies and 2021's spinoff sequel Persona 5 Strikers sold over 1 million in just a few short months, so there's no telling how high the potential sales for the next mainline entry might be. By allowing even more people to access the series' most popular entry, Atlus is setting Persona 6 up for record-breaking success as long as the studio can handle its treatment of non-PlayStation fans correctly.
By allowing fans of an entirely new platform to have access to the most recent entry in the franchise, Atlus might be teasing what's next for its future releases. It's certainly possible that Persona 5 Royal coming to Xbox is a one-off release to capitalize even further on its success, however, that doesn't seem likely given what might be in store for the future of the franchise and the heights that Atlus would most likely want to take it.
It feels like it would be a waste of potential as well as goodwill in the eyes of Xbox fans for Atlus to publish Persona 5 Royal on Xbox consoles and then revert back to Sony exclusivity of Persona 6. If the studio wants to truly make Persona 6 the biggest release the series has ever seen, it's going to need to think bigger than the PS4 and PS5. Persona 5 Strikers' release on the Switch and PC also might be telling for the series' future. Last year, Persona 4 Golden received a Steam release which sold surprisingly well to both Atlus and SEGA showing the two company's that a market for Persona outside of PlayStation exists and is hungry for more.
With E3 just around the corner and Microsoft having a large showcase during it, it's certainly possible that more information about Persona 5 Royal and its relation to Game Pass is coming. This is Atlus' game to win if the studio plays its cards right and capitalizes on the almost surefire continued success of Persona on Xbox or Game Pass. By putting the game in the hands of the ever-growing Xbox community, Atlus can ensure that Persona 6 will see an even bigger launch than Persona 5.
Persona 6 is reportedly in development.
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