Persona 5: SEGA Mulls Global Phantom X Launch

Persona 5: The Phantom X may be going global after being mentioned in SEGA's latest financial statements. Read on to learn more.

SEGA is Considering to Release P5X GloballyIs Persona 5: The Phantom X Coming to America?

It was just revealed that Persona 5's gacha spinoff, The Phantom X (P5X), is under consideration for a Japan and Global release. This was shown in SEGA's latest financial report for the fiscal year ending March 2024, where it noted that Persona 5: The Phantom X is currently "starting off as expected," in terms of sales and that "future expansion in Japan and global is under consideration."

Currently in Open Beta for Select Regions Only

Under license from the company, Persona 5: The Phantom X initially soft-launched for mobile and PC in China on April 12, 2024, followed by subsequent releases on April 18 in Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, and Taiwan. The game is currently in its open beta phase, published by South Korea’s Perfect World Games and developed by subsidiary Chinese studio Black Wings Game Studio.

Players take on the role of a silent protagonist, this time called "Wonder" who by day is a highschool student, and at night, a Persona-wielding "Phantom Thief, " a group of Persona users in the Persona 5 series who are out on a mission to undo the complex injustices borne out of the corrupt and greedy nature of society.

The P5X protagonist is initially assigned with the new Persona, named Janosik, based on Slovakian literature and is described as adopting the "Robin Hood" style. The Joker, protagonist from the P5 series, is part of Wonder’s crew, along with a new character named YUI.

As with the mainline Persona titles, Persona 5: The Phantom X incorporates the turn-based combat system, social sim, and dungeon crawling aspects of the JRPG series, but with a twist. The game adopts a gacha-based system for acquiring new units.

New Roguelike Gamemode - Heart Rail

Prominent Persona content creator, Faz, uploaded his gameplay showcase of the new Heart Rail update which is a new roguelike game mode for the current China-exclusive Persona 5: The Phantom X release. It seemingly draws a lot of similarities to Honkai Star Rail's Simulated Universe system, where you choose different powerups, explore different maps, and get rewards for completing the stage.

SEGA Steady Sales in Full Game Category

Sega also reported steady sales of new titles in its ‘Full Game’ category from Japan studios and repeat sales of titles released in the previous fiscal year. Among the mentioned games were Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, which reached global cumulative sales of 1 million units in its first week after launching in Jan.26, this year, Persona 3 Reload, which achieved global cumulative sales of 1 million units in its first week after launch earlier in February—noted as the fastest ever in Atlus titles, as well as Football Manager 2024, garnering up to 9 million players since launching in November last year.

SEGA’s FY25 Forecast and Mid-Term Changes

In line with this, SEGA announced that its business structure will undergo changes, establishing a new ‘Gaming Business’ segment. Sega will advocate further for online gaming, stating that it expects to enter the online gaming market in North America and establish this as the third pillar of their business model.

Apart from online gaming, SEGA’s new Gaming Business segment will include development, manufacturing, and sale of slot machines by SEGA SAMMY CREATION, and the operation business of integrated resort facilities by PARADISE SEGASAMMY, among others.

For FY2025, Sega forecasted an increase in sales and profits year-on-year. Overall, the Full Game segment is expected to net 93 billion Yen (approximately 597 billion USD), a 5.4% increase from 88.1 billion Yen from the FY2024/3 full year results. Sega also anticipated the release of a new title of Sonic series, one of their mainstay IPs, for next year.