Persona 5

Persona 5 is a 2016 role-playing video game developed by P-Studio. The game is the sixth installment in the Persona series, itself a spin-off from the Megami Tensei franchise. Published by Atlus in Japan and North America, and Deep Silver in PAL territories, it was released for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 in Japan on September 15, 2016 and worldwide on April 4, 2017. An enhanced version featuring new content, Persona 5 Royal, was released by Atlus for PlayStation 4 in Japan on October 31, 2019, while parent company Sega published the game worldwide on March 31, 2020. Royal was released on the PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and Windows on October 21, 2022.

As with previous games in the series, the party battles enemies known as Shadows using physical manifestations of their psyche known as Personas. The game incorporates role-playing and dungeon crawling elements alongside social simulation scenarios. Its story, taking place in modern-day Tokyo, follows a player-named high school student, referred to by his codename Joker, who was framed for assault, and put on probation, getting relocated to Yongen-Jaya and transfers to a new school. Over the course of a school year, he and other acquainted students awaken to a special power, becoming a group of secret vigilantes. Referred to as the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, the group explores a supernatural realm born from humanity's subconscious desires nicknamed the Metaverse, in order to steal malevolent intent from the hearts of adults. Its themes revolve around attaining freedom from the limitations of modern society: the story was strongly inspired by picaresque fiction, and the party's Personas were based on literary outlaws and rebels.

First announced in 2013, Persona 5 was developed by P-Studio, an internal development division within Atlus led at the time by game director and producer Katsura Hashino. Along with Hashino, returning staff from earlier Persona games included character designer Shigenori Soejima and music composer Shoji Meguro. Work on the game began during Persona 4's development and commenced into full production after the release of Catherine in 2011. Initially slated for a late 2014 release date, Persona 5 saw several delays due to being unfinished.

Persona 5 received critical acclaim, with praise directed towards its visual presentation, gameplay, story, characters, and music. The release of Royal saw additional acclaim for its new content and expansion on the original game. Including Royal, Persona 5 is the best-selling title in the Megami Tensei franchise, with over 10.45 million copies sold by March 2025. Since its release, critics have regarded Persona 5 as one of the greatest video games of all time. As with prior series entries, related media based on the game have been produced, including four spin-off games, manga and anime adaptations, and the cast's appearances in other games—most notably Joker's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018).