Persona5: The Phantom X Developers Speak About the Game's Success

It's almost been nine years since Atlus released Persona 5 in Japan, and since then, the game has garnered critical acclaim and become wildly successful. The original and Royal versions sit at scores of 93 and 95, respectively, and collectively have sold over 10.45 million total copies as of March 2025. Its popularity has created a variety of spin-offs, including the tactics RPG Persona 5 Tactica and the action RPG Persona 5 Strikers.

The latest Persona 5 spin-off, Persona5: The Phantom X, is a mobile and PC game that expands on the series' lore with new characters and mechanics fitting the platform. During Anime Expo 2025, Anime News Network had the opportunity to sit down with Atlus and Sega producers Yousuke Uda and Jun Matsunaga to discuss Persona5: The Phantom X, their impressions of fan reception so far, and their plans to keep players engaged in the future.

Persona5: The Phantom X was released globally on June 26, and even though it has only been about two weeks since its launch, Uda said that Atlus is satisfied with the reception so far. “It's been good. People are playing it a lot, and it's going very smoothly,” he explained. “We're seeing people's thoughts[…]posted on social media, and we're very appreciative of people's comments.”

The developers are happy with the positive reception of the game's mechanics, including the battle system. Even though Atlus built The Phantom X to be a mobile game, fans have said that there's gameplay parity with the original Persona 5.

“[...] We're really happy [...] that people are saying that they're getting the same experience as Persona 5 on console,” Uda said. “We're also really thankful that people have been commenting that the quality of the animations, stories, and battles are either equal to or better than [Persona 5] on console.”

While Persona 5's explosive popularity made it the obvious choice for spin-offs, Persona 3 and Persona 4 have strong fan bases as well. The former got a remake last year in Persona 3 Reload, and the latter has the recently announced Persona 4 Revival. However, there were other reasons why Persona 5 was chosen to get its own mobile game.

“Everyone's opinion was pretty much unified around the fact that since we had our Persona 5 assets, we had all of our know-how,” said Uda. “It was going to be easiest to make, and since this was our first mobile game, everyone was pretty much in agreement that we were going to go with that.”

He also added, “The teams working on Persona 3 Reload and Persona 4 Revival were working on Persona5: The Phantom X at the same time. So it was not possible to make Persona 3 or 4 mobile games.”

There have been reports that The Phantom X would get console ports, but Atlus has shut those rumors down. The developer of the game's Chinese version, Perfect World, had previously stated that it was investigating the possibility, which is how some of the reports originated. However, Uda clarified that not all hope is lost. “We're constantly doing research about what's possible in the future. But in terms of a console version, there has been no official announcement.”

As a mobile game, The Phantom X is expected to have numerous collaborations in the future. However, the collaborations are currently limited to the wider Persona series. They include characters from the original Persona 5, as well as Persona 4 and Persona 3. The Chinese version already had its Persona 3 Reload crossover, and it appears that the global version will receive its due soon.

When asked about his dream crossovers, Uda didn't provide any, but simply explained its near-term crossover plans, saying, “The first ones would be collaborations with other Persona numbered entries. We should be focusing on what's out of China. I think probably Persona 3 is the first one we'd start with.”

Another aspect that Atlus needs to consider is how to keep players engaged with The Phantom X. A common strategy is to deploy seasonal events, which Atlus has already confirmed will be coming. But making the events engaging is the hard part. “There are seasonal events, things specific to summer and Christmas seasons,” Uda said. “The events also have to be fun, so it's kind of like striking a balance, making sure that we keep adding goofy scenes but also keep the respectable and serious sides.”

Despite these obstacles, it seems like Persona5: The Phantom X is poised for success. The game currently holds a “Mostly Positive” score on Steam, indicating that players are enjoying it.

Persona5: The Phantom X is now available on PC and mobile.