Why wasn't Persona 5 at E3?

With announcements such as a long-awaited Final Fantasy 7 remake and a new Square Enix studio devoted to role-playing games, it's been a good E3 for fans of Japanese RPGs. But one fan-favorite title in the genre was curiously absent from the show floor: Persona 5.

You may not have even realized Persona 5 wasn't there from looking at Atlus' otherwise packed E3 booth. The space was decked out with Persona 5 branding everywhere, and visitors were given giant bags with the title splashed across them. However, the only sign of the game was a single, roped-off television set that was playing an English version of a recent Persona 5 trailer on a loop.

While visiting the Atlus booth and checking in on the publisher's other projects, we asked what's up with the lack of Persona 5.

"Persona 5 is one of our biggest titles," said Atlus PR manager John Hardin. "We have to treat it with delicacy and care. No one likes to be spoiled, and especially not with a title of this magnitude. We just don't have anything ready."

Hardin confirmed that Atlus is still planning for a 2015 release for Persona 5 both in Japan and North America. It will launch for both PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, but with the company very worried about spoilers, don't expect to see much of the game until it's ready to come out.