Persona 5 Brings The Phantom Thieves To Tabletop Gaming

Atlus' year-long "Persona" 25th anniversary celebration may finally be at an end, but that hasn't stopped the company from making one more announcement that fans may have never seen coming — and, no, it's not "Persona 6." Rather, it seems that "Persona 5" fans are getting yet another game centered upon Joker, Morgana, and the rest of the Phantom Thieves. The only thing is, it's not a video game — it's a tabletop card game.

One of the biggest pieces of "Persona"-related news in 2022 was the announcement that "Persona 5 Royal" — the enhanced version of the original "Persona 5" which adds new story elements and quality-of-life improvements, changes much of its problematic content, and more — would finally branch out of its home on the PlayStation 4 and go multi-platform in October. With users of the Nintendo Switch, Microsoft's Xbox One and Xbox Series consoles, and Steam on PC all finally getting the chance to try out the game on those platforms, there's a lot of renewed buzz surrounding the latest main series entry in the "Persona" series. As such, it only makes sense to capitalize on that interest with a brand-new experience. Here's what we learned about the "Persona 5 Royal" tabletop game from its announcement.

The "Persona 5 Royal" tabletop card game marks a surprising collaboration between Atlus and tabletop game publisher Pandasaurus Games. The company has published notable titles such as "The Game" and "Machi Koro," but this new project marks its first time working with a video game company.

According to the announcement, established tabletop game designer Emerson Matsuuchi will design the "Persona 5 Royal" card game. Matsuuchi explains that participants will work together as the main characters from the original game. "Players will take on the roles of their favorite Phantom Thieves and fight to change the world in this cooperative card-based strategy game," Matsuuchi said in the announcement.

"Persona 5 Royal" isn't the first fan-favorite RPG to get a tabletop game adaptation in recent memory. In 2021, "Stardew Valley: The Game" turned ConcernedApe's beloved farming simulator into a board game, maintaining many of the characters, items, and general aesthetics of the original property. While the "Persona 5 Royal" card game will almost certainly pull from the flashy, stylistic flair of its namesake, it remains to be seen whether the game incorporates the original's trademark social simulation elements or battle system.

The partnered companies intend for the card game to release on October 21, 2023, exactly one year after "Persona 5 Royal" goes multi-platform. Pandasaurus Games co-owner Nathan McNair stated: "As a diehard fan of 'Persona 5 Royal' — I cannot wait to bring the Palaces, Velvet Room and world of 'Persona 5 Royal' onto tabletops everywhere in 2023."