Summary
- Persona 5: The Phantom X's design as a gacha game gives it more crossover potential than most Persona games.
- Atlus says The Phantom X will have crossovers with other Persona games, but there's potential for much more.
- The Phantom X could interact with other Sega properties such as Like a Dragon or reach out to other JRPG giants like Final Fantasy.
Persona 5: The Phantom X is different from previous Persona games in multiple ways. For starters, it's the first game in the series that Atlus isn't directly developing. While the Japanese company has worked on select Persona titles with external studios like Arc System Works and Omega Force in the past, this upcoming Persona 5 spin-off is primarily being helmed by Chinese developer Black Wings Game Studio instead, with Atlus merely taking a supervisor role for the project. Furthermore, Persona 5: The Phantom X is also the only game in the series not to launch in Japan on day-one, since the title is currently only available in China, Taiwan, and South Korea. Most notably of all, however, is the fact that P5X is the Persona franchise's first attempt at adopting a live service business model.
As a free-to-play GAAS title, Persona 5: The Phantom X is already different enough as-is from what people have come to expect from the franchise, but the title has the opportunity to distinguish itself from the mainline Persona games even further by placing a heavy emphasis on crossovers. Thanks to being a gacha title, this spin-off has a lot of potential to take advantage of cross-IP collaborations, unlike the mainline entries in the series. While the mobile game trappings of P5X may not appeal to every Persona fan, titles like this can still draw the attention of wider audiences due to the fact that they're available on platforms with very large install bases. Additionally, crossovers with major franchises often prove to be very successful for similar games in the gacha genre.
Persona 5: The Phantom X Should Embrace Its High Crossover Potential
Crossovers Are Very Prevalant in Mobile Games and GAAS Titles
In recent years, crossovers have become a defining trait of mobile games and live service titles, such as Fortnite, Call of Duty Mobile, Dead by Daylight, Among Us, Arknights, and many more. These collaborations typically come in the form of skins or other paid cosmetics and even new, playable characters. Regardless of what form they come in, though, crossovers in mobile games can often generate bucketloads of money via microtransactions depending on the IP they pertain to.
The Mainline Persona Games Aren't Known For Having Tons of Crossovers
When it comes to singleplayer console games like the mainline Persona titles, though, cross-IP collaborations aren't nearly as prevalent because they aren't easily monetizable. In most cases, publishers typically charge for crossover skins, but since AAA singleplayer games already cost $60-70 on their own, players are less likely to spend additional money on microtransactions. This is where Persona 5: The Phantom X comes in. Thanks to it being a free-to-play gacha game that already employs monetization schemes suitable for the distribution of paid skins, P5X has more potential than any other game in the Persona series in regards to crossovers.
There Are Many Franchises that Persona 5: The Phantom X Could Collaborate With
So far, Atlus has already confirmed that Persona 5: The Phantom X will have collaborations with other Persona games in the near future, namely Persona 5 Royal, Persona 4 Golden, and Persona 3 Reload, in that order. However, crossovers like these aren't anything new, as previous Persona games have regularly featured paid cosmetics based off of other titles in the franchise. The real potential here is not from collaborations with fellow Atlus titles, but rather crossovers with other, unrelated franchises, like the game series owned by Sega. Characters from Bayonetta, Sonic, Like a Dragon, and even Space Channel 5 would make great additions to Persona 5: The Phantom X. Atlus could even take things a step further by collaborating with third-party franchises, like Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, and Monster Hunter.
When Persona 5: The Phantom X eventually releases in the west, it could end up being a major hit and one of the more profitable games in the persona series if Sega and Atlus play their cards right. P5X could not only introduce the Persona franchise to the larger, more casual gaming market, but collaborations with other franchises could elevate the popularity of the series even further.
Persona 5 Royal
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 94 /100 Critics Rec: 98%
WHERE TO PLAY
Don the mask and join the Phantom Thieves of Hearts as they stage grand heists, infiltrate the minds of the corrupt, and make them change their ways! Prepare for the award-winning RPG experience in this definitive edition of Persona 5 Royal, featuring a treasure trove of downloadable content included!
Forced to transfer to a high school in Tokyo, the protagonist has a strange dream. “You truly are a prisoner of fate. In the near future, ruin awaits you.” With the goal of “rehabilitation” looming overhead, he must save others from distorted desires by donning the mask of a Phantom Thief.
Explore Tokyo, unlock Personas, customize your own personal Thieves Den, experience alternate endings, and more. Become the ultimate Phantom Thief and defy conventions, discover the power within, and fight for justice in the definitive version of Persona 5 Royal.
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
- How Long To Beat
- 100 Hours
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
