Today Persona and Shin Megami Tensei developer ATLUS opened a new teaser website for a new JRPG,  and so far everything seems quite ordinary, but this time around it's different. A Message by Persona series Director Katsura Hashino mentions that it's a completely new challenge, and it's neither a Persona nor Shin Megami Tensei game.

"It's Neither "Persona" nor "Shin Megami Tensei." A New Challenge.

Starting from Zero.

The Atlus RPG was born 25 years ago. At the time, stories in the so-called "fantasy" worlds were mainstream. The "Persona" series released as a spinoff of "Shin Megami Tensei" was launched as a "counter" to such a natural world view.

Both series have been developed with concepts that have always been in opposition to their times until now, including the latest games. So what could be the image of a new RPG tackled by ATLUS now in addition to continuing those series?

I think that it is to challenge the "normality" of the genre which has been consumed for decades. That challenge is about to begin right now. The moment of birth from zero. We would be pleased if you could stand-by us at the moment we launch our challenge from zero."

Apparently the new game is a fantasy JRPG (as the wording of the message implies) developed a new internal studio named "Studio Zero," under the oversight of Hashino-san himself and ATLUS USA President Naoto Hiraoka.

The announcement also includes the link to a livestream on Nico Nico that will happen on December 23rd at 8 PM Japan time, promising the reveal of the new game. You can also see an image below, illustrated by Persona 5 character designer Shigenori Soejima.

Atlus launched Persona 5 in Japan on September 15th, bringing home quite a success both in sales and in appreciation from fans and critics (While weìre still waiting for the western release on April 4th, 2017). Apparently, the Japanese publisher and developer is ready for something new, while still intending to keep up with new Persona and Shin Megami Tensei releases at the same time. It'll be certainly interesting to see what they come up with.

Of course, you'll be able to read all about the game right here on DualShockers as it gets announced.