We Finally Know When Persona 5 Scramble Is Coming To The West

While a Western release date for Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers was leaked in early December when a trailer briefly becoming available ahead of schedule, Atlus has now officially confirmed the game's English-language release to be on February 21, 2021. It will be available for PS4 (playable on PS5, with no word yet on next-gen upgrades), Nintendo Switch and on Steam.

Persona 5 Scramble is both a story sequel to Persona 5, and a musou-style game in which players will once again take control of the each of the Phantom Thieves. Musou refers to a subgenre in which a single, player-controlled character battles against a large army of A.I. enemies. The genre was codified by Dynasty Warriors 2, and has since become a template for games in other popular franchises like Zelda (Hyrule Warriors and this year's sequel, Age of Calamity) and One Piece.

Since musou gameplay takes place in real-time, the Phantom Thieves will ultimately control differently than in the base Persona 5, which had much more of turn-based approach to battle. However, as showcased in its first English-language trailer, characters in Persona 5 Scramble will retain some of their signature moves from the original game, adapted to make sense in their new format. Staples from Persona 5's action sequences, like All-Out attacks and the ability to quickly jump up onto ledges, are also key features of its action sequences.

By the time Persona 5 Scramble is released in the West, it will have been just over a year since its initial Japanese release date of February 20, 2020. In October of this year, though Atlus had previously promised to localize their Persona 5 sequel, it was revealed that there was no mention of the game in a report detailing Koei Tecmo's finances. This left some fans worried that the English-language version was no longer in the works.

Atlus also announced that, in celebration of Persona 5 Scramble heading to the West, Lyn Inaizumi will be performing during The Game Awards' pre-show. Inaizumi is the vocalist featured on prominent Persona 5 tracks like "Life Will Change" and "Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There."

Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers will be available to preorder starting on Dec. 10 at 4pm PST. Since the dates and times match up more-or-less exactly, some are theorizing that the release date reveal was originally planned for The Game Awards, but has since been announced early due to the recent leak.