4Gamer has published their annual feature for next year aspirations of Japanese creators in the video game industry, discussing what they paid attention to in 2025 and what they’re looking forward to in 2026. 194 Japanese creators were interviewed, including 7 from Atlus.
Yosuke Uda (2nd Creative Department – P Studio)
Yosuke Uda is a business producer and planner for Atlus who has primarily worked on Persona Team games; recently Persona 3 Reload and Persona 5: The Phantom X.
Question 4: What are your aspirations for 2026, and do you have a message for 4Gamer readers?
We’ve reached the half-anniversary milestone for Persona 5: The Phantom X, and we’ll continue working hard alongside the entire P-Studio team to keep the momentum going. And in regards to further elevating the Persona series… We’ll do our best to make that happen! We sincerely appreciate everyone’s continued support in 2026!
Atsushi Kitajoh (Atlus Sound Team)
Atsushi Kitajoh is an Atlus Sound Team composer who has worked on the Persona 4 Arena series, the Persona Q series, Persona 5 Strikers, and Persona 3 Reload.
Question 4: What are your aspirations for 2026, and do you have a message for 4Gamer readers?
The Switch 2 version of Persona 3 Reload, which I worked on, is now available. Also, many titles from other companies are being released or are scheduled for release over the year-end and New Year period. Influenza is going around again this winter, and it’s cold outside… In times like these, isn’t staying home and playing games a the best choice? Just be careful not to get too little exercise!
Shigeo Komori (1st Creative Department)
Atsushi Kitajoh is Atlus director who has worked on the Nintendo Switch 2 version of Persona 3 Reload as the director. He has previously worked on titles in the Shin Megami Tensei series and Etrian Odyssey series as scenario writer and planner.
Question 4: What are your aspirations for 2026, and do you have a message for 4Gamer readers?
The Nintendo Switch 2 version of Persona 3 Reload has been released without incident, and I’m finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.
I hope you’ll enjoy playing it in a variety of ways—whether that’s lounging in bed, levelling up during spare moments on your commute, or diving into exciting scenes on a big screen TV in the living room.
As for the next title, right now we’re in the middle of imagining what kind of game we want to create, letting our ideas wander, and having passionate discussions with the team. It’s tough, but it’s also a really fun and exciting time!
Shinjiro Takada (1st Creative Department)
Shinjiro Takada is the product manager of Atlus’ 1st Creative Department, which handles the Shin Megami Tensei series. He’s worked on the Devil Survivor series, Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE, and Shin Megami Tensei V, and Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance.
Question 4: What are your aspirations for 2026, and do you have a message for 4Gamer readers?
In June 2025, we released Raidou Remastered, followed by Persona 3 Reload for the Switch 2 in October. After handling demos and patches, we were hoping for things to settle down… It looks like it’ll be a little while longer before we have something new to share.
Atsushi Nomura (2nd Creative Department – P Studio)
Atsushi Nomura is a producer for Atlus’ 2nd Creative Department, which handles the Persona series. He has worked on the remastered version of Persona 4 Golden as well as Persona 5 Tactica.
Question 4: What are your aspirations for 2026, and do you have a message for 4Gamer readers?
2026 marks the 30th anniversary for the Persona series since its debut in 1996 with Revelations: Persona. We would like to extend our most sincere appreciation to our long-time supporters and those who have recently discovered the series. We also hope that this coming year will be one where Persona reaches even more people. We hope to celebrate this milestone together with all of you.
We’ve also received a lot of support for Persona 4 Revival, and we’re very much looking forward to being able to share more details with you. We sincerely appreciate your continued support.
Kazuyuki Yamai (1st Creative Department)
Kazuyuki Yamai is a director for Atlus’ 1st Creative Department, which handles the Shin Megami Tensei series. He has worked on Shin Megami Tensei IV, Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse, and Raidou Remastered.
Question 4: What are your aspirations for 2026, and do you have a message for 4Gamer readers?
As a member of Atlus, we have a packed schedule with various anniversaries coming up, so I sincerely hope you’ll celebrate them with us.
As a developer, thanks to your support, we’ve reached a milestone with the release of Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army in 2025. That said, Raidou is a title we still want to build excitement around. A demo version is available, so please check it out!
And now, it’s time to sow seeds, so to speak. We’re laying the groundwork for future projects.
Kazuhisa Wada (2nd Creative Department – P Studio)
Kazuhisa Wada is the Creative Producer and Chief Director of the Persona Team. He has worked on the Persona 4 Arena series, the Persona Dancing series, Persona 5 Royal, and is working on Persona 5: The Phantom X.
Question 4: What are your aspirations for 2026, and do you have a message for 4Gamer readers?
2026 marks the 30th anniversary of the Persona series. With the gratitude we have for all of you, we’re preparing a wealth of initiatives on a global scale, so please look forward to it!
Furthermore, 2026 should be a time when we can share news regarding future developments for the series.
Preparations are steadily coming together, and all of us at Atlus will be giving our all to further elevate Persona. We sincerely appreciate your continued support!
The 2025 developer aspirations from Atlus developers can be read in last year’s post, which teased the announcement that ended up being Raidou Remastered.