Persona 5, one of 2015's most highly anticipated video game releases, has been delayed to the summer of 2016. The news comes straight from the currently ongoing Tokyo Game Show (TGS), where the game was set to take center stage for publisher Atlus and Sony.
The official press release on the matter reads:
There's no easy way to say it, so we'll be blunt. Persona 5 will not release in 2015. The next numbered entry of the Persona franchise will now release in Japan and the Americas in 2016.
The strengths of the Persona series are compelling characters, a moving, relatable story, and a borderline obsession with minutiae - elements which can't be rushed or taken lightly. So while ATLUS realizes the frustration and disappointment that this must cause for the JRPG-loving public, please know that we are delaying the game in order to make sure the next iteration of the Persona series lives up to the expectations of fans.
The game was widely believed to be releasing this year, despite no formal date being given. Video game release dates aren't often revealed on short notice, so the writing was on the wall for this delay. Still, many fans were hoping that TGS would bring a surprise last minute announcement regarding a 2015 launch but alas, that isn't the case.
For this game, director Katsura Hashino told Siliconera back in February:
For this game, we're going with a challenge that fuses together a juvenile school setting that is as large as life, together with a picaresque romance. In the previous game, we wrote a story that involved having a justice group chase down a bad guy that could easily be feared by just about anyone.
It isn't all doom and gloom for Persona fans however. Persona 4: Dancing All Night, a spinoff title for the Playstation Vita, is still set to launch later this month.
