July - Persona 5 starts conceptual development, after Persona 4 is released in Japan[citation needed]
2009
July 2 - Persona 5 is mentioned in an article announcing Shin Megami Tensei K on pachinko gaming website 7-Rush [1][2]
July 21 - The mention of Persona 5 on the 7-Rush post is removed[3][4]
2010
March 24 - Hashino confirms in Dengeki PlayStation vol. 469 that the next numbered title of the Persona series is in development [5][citation needed]
2011
February 2 - "Preliminary development" begins on the next Persona entry after the release of Catherine, using a new engine developed in-house rather than GameByro.[citation needed]
March 11 - The initial idea gets completely reworked due to the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake[citation needed]
August 31 - Famitsu issue #1187 is released, featuring an interview with Hashino
Preliminary development of the new game is nearing completion, and actual development will begin soon
Hashino will be the director, Shigenori Soejima will return as the character designer, and Shoji Meguro will return as the main composer
The game’s themes have been determined and the staff want to challenge more new elements coming from Persona 4 than was done between the Persona 2 duology and Persona 3
2012
May 9 - Meguro says that if the story of Persona 5 is radically different than the previous entries, the music will adapt. [6]
August 8 - Hashino says that the developmental team is focused on creating the next numbered entry in the series, and that Soejima had already submitted sketches. Also mentions the existence of a "collaborative project," likely Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth[7]
October 16 - Hashino again hints at the existence of Persona 5 but doesn't elaborate[8]
2013
Announcement Trailer (English)
March 17 -During the Game no Dengeki Kanshasai 2013 award event, Hashino states that the team is "working hard" on the next game[9]
June 25 - The domain name for the website "persona5.jp" is registered by Atlus[10]
July 6 - The "persona5.jp" domain ispublicly discovered[11]
August 13 - Hashino says that multiple announcements will be made ahead of Atlus's 25th anniversary[12]
September 26 - The "p-ch.jp" launches with a countdown that ends on November 24, where it said that "a new title" would be announced[13]
October 25 - Hashino teases that "all the announcements we’ve been keeping" will be revealed when the countdown ends[14]
November 24
Persona 5 is officially revealed at the end of a live streamed event by Atlus, announced as coming to PlayStation 3 in Winter 2014[15]
November 28 - In the December 12th issue of Famitsu, Hashino talks about the reveal and the initial emancipation image. (full Atlus interview starts on page 85. p5 is talked about on pages 108-109. issue 1304)
December 5 - An interview with Hashino about the game is featured in the month's issue of Persona Magazine, "#Re:birth "
2014
Teaser Trailer (English)
February 24 - Atlus confirms that Persona 5 will have a localized western release in 2015[18]
July 18 - Soejima teasaes that more information about Persona 5 will come very soon[19]
September 1 - A teaser trailer was posted, originally shown at SCEJA 2014. It shows the protagonist and general setting. The game is announced for PlayStation 4 in addition to PlayStation 3, and will be delayed to 2015[20]
October 17 - Soejima reveals he's involved with more than just the character designs of the game [21]
December 6 - Atlus USA PR manager John Hardin announces that the localization will come to PlayStation 4 in 2015, after the Japanese release, at the PlayStation Experience 2014 keynote[23]
December 12 - Key visual for Persona Super Live 2015 revealed, with the protagonists of P3/4/5. The protagonist for 5 has his back facing the camera[24]
December 22 - Hashino states that there will be new information revealed in 2015[25]
December 27 - Hashino discuss the main themes of Persona 5 for the first time, which consist of breaking free from societal restraints. Hashino also hints at inspirations for the game, including Lupin the Third[26]
2015
Persona Super Live 2015 Key Art
February 5
PV 01 trailer is shown at the end of the Persona Super Live 2015 concert, and is the first to show gameplay footage. The trailer was released on YouTube later the same day[27]
The first piece of key art for the game is revealed at the concert
A preview trailer for Persona 4: Dancing All Night announces that first print editions of the game will include a bonus Blu-ray disc related to Persona 5[28]
Hashino posts a blog post more clearly explaining the themes and concepts of the game.[29]
An excerpt of an Famitsu interview with Hashino is released, where mutiple aspects of the game are asked about[30]
February 9 - Meguro reveals that the music heard in PV 01 is the instrumental version of the main theme, and that the musical genre of the game is acid jazz[31]
February 12 - The Feb. 26 issue of Famitsu is released, containing an interview with Hashino and short comments from Soejima. (pg. 20-27, issue 1367)
February 25 - #2015 February edition of Persona Magazine is released, containing an introduction to the game and an interview with Hashino and Soejima
March 3 - The domain "atlus.com/persona5" is updated with an age gate and links to the Japanese website[32]
May 11 - Sega Sammy's fiscal year end report states that the game will be released before next fiscal year ends on March 31, 2016, specifically implying a release date between October and December 2015[33][34]
June 8 - The Atlus USA website is given an overhaul, and lists Persona 5 as a "Late 2015" release, before quickly being changed to just "2015"[35]
June 12 - Persona 5 revealed to be the design for badge holders given out at E3 2015[36]
June 14 - The contents of the disc bundled with P4D is revealed. Five videos will be included: the four trailers released up to this point as well as an exclusive first look at PV 02, which was never officially uploaded to the internet [37]
PV 02 (Unofficial upload w/ English subtitles)
June 24 - At E3 2015, Persona 5 is confirmed to still be coming in 2015 in North America[38]
June 29 - #2015 July edition of Persona Magazine is released, with a section focusing on the P5 keywords "Picaresque Roman," and "Phantom"
September 15 - A promotional website for a "Hunt for the Phantom Thieves!" campaign is posted. Posters for the campaign have a QR code linking to the site.[39]
September 16 - Persona 5 is listed on Sega's Tokyo Game Show website, still listing a release of 2015[40]
September 17 - Tokyo Game Show 2015 begins and lasts until the 19th. Atlus starts a "Business Trip!" live stream on Niconico to reveal more information about the game:[41]
The "Business Trip!" livestream opens with an introduction from the two new Velvet Attendants, who were originally shown in PV 02. Their names are Caroline and Justine
PV 03 is released on during the livestream, revealing that the game was delayed to "Summer 2016." The video is later uploaded as an individual trailer[42] Separately, Atlus USA announces that the English localization will also be delayed to an unspecified date in 2016[43]
An interview with Hashino follows the trailer in the livestream. This interview shows off new gameplay, goes into the "heart stealing" aspect of the story, and apologizes for the repeated delays[44]
The "Hunt for the Phantom Thieves!" campaign is revealed to be a Twitter and QR code event, where character profiles for the first four main characters would unlock after a certain number of QR codes were scanned and posted to Twitter. The first character profile, for the protagonist, is made public[45]
Soejima TGS 2015 Illustration
September 18 - The "Business Trip!" livestream continues:
The character profile for Ryuji Sakamoto is posted, preceded by a fictional news report during the live stream. [46] Profiles for Ann Takamaki[47] and Morgana,[48] are released later in the day. All three characters have two voice lines to listen to on the campaign's website as well.
The livestream shows a one-hour segment of Shigenori Soejima drawing artwork for the game. The segment would later be posted as a separate video[49]
September 19 - The final day of the "Business Trip!" livestream
A short concert titled Persona Special Stage is performed live at Tokyo Game Show on the live stream. The concert reveals the vocal version of the game's opening theme, Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There.[50] Afterwards the protagonist's voice actor Jun Fukuyama makes a special guest appearance wearing Joker's mask[51]
A "Special Persona 5 Anime TV Broadcast" is announced, as well as a "20th Anniversary Celebration Project" [52]
The vocalist for the opening theme is revealed to be Lyn Inaizumi. A video of her addressing fans is shown on the live stream[53][citation needed]
September 23 - Famitsu issue #1399 is released
October 2 - The official Japanese website is updated with details on the five revealed party members and their Personas[54]
November 9 - The December 2015 issue of Comptiq magazine is released with more information and screenshots from the game[55]
December 4 - Build date of a prototype that was leaked in 2024. (See: TCRF Article)
December 8 - A two-page interview with Hashino is released in the month's GameInformer release. A longer version of the article is posted the next day to the GameInformer website[56]
December 17 - Atlus USA releases a Persona 5 themed holiday card[57]
December 23 - Persona 5 is featured in the Atlus Happy New Year 2016 card, with the tagline “2016 is ours!”
May 5 - Previously announced livestream goes live on Niconico at 7pm GMT, titled "We're Taking Tokyo Tower." [61][62]
In collaboration with Tokyo Tower staff, the tower is lit up with red lights
The game's appearance at E3 2016 is confirmed
PV 04 is shown on stream, revealing the final release date of September 15, 2016. The trailer is later uploaded as a standalone video to YouTube[63]
Around 10pm, a special edition of Persona Stalker Club, titled "Persona Stalker Club Travel Edition" is aired
May 27 - Build date of a version that was leaked in 2024
June 3 - Build date of the master debug build of the Japanese release that was leaked in 2024
June 7 - A North American release date of February 14, 2017 is announced, along with two special edition releases[64]
June 10 - A press release is given to media outlets in Japan, detailing more information about the story, settings, and gameplay[65]
Story Introduction: First 18 Minutes
June 14-16 - Persona 5 makes an appearance at E3 2016[66]
An hour-long Japanese live stream titled "Revealing the Phantom Thieves" was held on June 15, hosted by Mafia Kajita, Tomomi Isomura, and Jun Fukuyama. Footage of E3 is shown and discussed, and Goro Akechi is introduced[67]
July 18 - A two-day event titled "Take the Treasure" begins and is streamed to Niconico[68]
An introduction recapping previous Persona 5 events is hosted by Mafia Kajita and Tomomi Isomura[69]
A new gameplay trailer is shown, revealing new crafting mechanics and minigames[69]
Day 1 ends with a view of Tokyo National Museum, the in-person location of the event[69]
July 19 - The "Take the Treasure" event continues
The Gallery of Horyuji Treasures at Tokyo National Museum is redecorated with a Persona 5 theme. Select visitors who have submitted an application are able to attend and play the first public demo of the game[70]
The Persona 20th Fes event will take place from December 8th to December 18th[73]
A new gameplay trailer reveals Morgana's car form and the game's side quest system[73]
A series of public demos will be playable across Japan from July 20th to August 27th[73]
A launch event will take place at Tokyo Game Show 2016 on the same day as the game's launch[73]
At the end of the live stream, seven new characters that are referred to as "Cooperation Characters" are revealed.[73] This term would later be localized as Confidant in English.
June 30 - A Chinese release is planned for September 15, 2016. The release will feature Japanese audio with Chinese subtitles[74]
August 9 - A European release date is announced to be February 14, 2017[75]
August 26 - The official Japanese website is updated to reveal the names, codenames, and Personas for all of the Phantom Thieves except for Goro Akechi[76]
August 27 - The Chinese release is delayed to an unspecified date in 2017[77]
September 8 - The "#P5 Special" issue of Persona Magazine is released containing:
A 55 page introduction to the game's characters, school life, confidants, and Phantom Thief activities
An interview with staff of Production IG, the studio behind the game's animated cutscenes
An interview with Shigenori Soejima about the art and visual design of the game
An interview with creative producer and director Katsura Hashino
September 15 - Persona 5 is officially released in Japan
November 16 - The North American and European releases are delayed to April 4, 2017[78]
December 4 - The pre-order bonuses for the North American and European release is revealed to be the "Protagonist Special Theme and Avatar Set" and the "Izanagi and Izanagi Picaro Set"[79]
December 23 - The Chinese release date is announced to be March 23, 2017[80][81]
2017
March 11- Atlus CEO Naoto Hiraoka discusses the Chinese release date, saying that the Asian market has priority over the International market and that the delays were due to the game's large size[82]
March 23 - Persona 5 is officially released in China
March 29 - The first reviews of the English release start to come out[83][84][85]
Apr. 4 - Persona 5 is officially released in America and Europe
October 28 - A panel about the game's UI design is held by Masayoshi Suto and Kazuhisa Wada at CEDEC 2017 in Kyushu, Japan[86]
Gallery
ideally these would also be in tables in the subpages/sub sections. gallery will probably be a subpage in the final ver
Ann Takamaki (Face)
Ann Takamaki Expressions Sheet
