Persona 5, Metaphor: ReFantazio Director Teases His Next Game

Key Takeaways

• Persona 5 director Katsura Hashino’s next game after Metaphor: ReFantazio is already in the works.
• Hashino says that he didn’t pick the unannounced project based on his personal preference, but by looking at what his team at Studio Zero wanted to do the most.

Atlus veteran Katsura Hashino has teased his next project after Metaphor: ReFantazio, which he says is already in the works. He did so as part of a recent interview that also saw him talk a bit about his creative process and how his day-to-day looks since he took charge of a new division at Atlus.

Hashino is an industry veteran with credits on nearly 50 games spanning four decades. He has lately been on a press tour in order to promote the critically acclaimed Metaphor: ReFantazio, which hit the market on October 11 and immediately established itself as one of the highest-rated games of 2024.

As part of these promotional efforts, Hashino recently sat down with Famitsu in order to talk about his work, friendship with Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, and other topics. One of the highlights from this interview is the confirmation that the Metaphor: ReFantazio director is already working on his next game. “Yes, I’ve already started,” he said in reference to this mysterious project.

Elaborating on how this unannounced title was greenlit, Hashino said that he doesn’t tackle game ideas based on what he’d personally like to do, but rather what kind of things his team at Atlus wants to pursue the most. “Firstly, I want the players to be happy, and as a result, I hope the company will be happy as well; that is how I always work,” he explained.

Firstly, I want the players to be happy, and as a result, I hope the company will be happy as well; that is how I always work.

Studio Zero Remains Focused on New Atlus Initiatives

The interview also saw him note that not much has changed since he established and started running Studio Zero in 2017, saying that this unit doesn’t act as a separate company, but merely a place for new Atlus initiatives. As such, Studio Zero won’t disband now that Metaphor: ReFantazio is out, much like it continued after releasing its first game, Catherine: Full Body. While the phrase “new initiatives” might suggest that Hashino’s next project will be another original IP, that won’t necessarily be the case. After all, Catherine : Full Body was an enhanced edition of the 2011 Catherine, which predates Studio Zero.

There should be no shortage of interest in Hashino’s next project, as his current track record is pretty outstanding. Since the ’90s, he has directed and/or produced critically acclaimed titles such as the first three 3D Persona games, Dragon’s Crown, and Odin Sphere, among plenty of others. Based on its current level of acclaim, Metaphor: ReFantazio stands alongside Hashino’s best works. And if Atlus’s track record is any indication, Studio Zero might even be working on some Metaphor DLC right now, especially now that the company says it wants to focus on releasing expansions rather than enhanced editions of games such as SMT5: Vengeance and Persona 5: Royal.