Persona 5 is one of the celebrated Japanese role-playing games in the genre. After several spin-offs and guest appearances, there is now a new free game on Steam. The role-playing game attracts many players right from the start.
What game is it? Persona 5 was the big role-playing hit from Atlus in 2017. The acclaimed role-playing game received a score of 93 on Metacritic and is thus one of the highest-rated games on the platform. This was followed by a new version, spin-offs in other genres, and guest appearances in other games, such as in Super Smash Bros.
Now, on 26.06.2025, a new installment in the popular universe has been released. With Persona 5: The Phantom X, a new free role-playing game with gacha mechanics joins the series and gathers many players on Steam.
More players than the original
What is Persona 5: The Phantom X? The game is a role-playing game that is not only thematically but also in terms of interface and combat system oriented towards Persona 5. As Phantom Thieves, you manage school, friends, and other activities during the day, and at night you fight in a turn-based combat system against demons in dungeons based on the psyche of characters.
This time, however, the focus is on different characters. As a free-to-play title, The Phantom X relies on a gacha system, where you can draw characters, some known from the Persona series, and weapons.
How does the game start? As of now (26.06.2025, 17:30) the game has reached a peak of over 41,000 simultaneous players (via SteamDB). Persona 5 Royale (the version released on Steam) could only achieve 35,474 simultaneous players upon its release in 2022 (via SteamDB).
With the current numbers, it can be assumed that The Phantom X will set a new record. In the Google Play Store, it is currently stated that there have been over 500,000 downloads.
How is the game performing on Steam so far? From just under 1000 reviews (as of 26.06.2025, 17:34), currently 72% are positive on Steam. The style and adherence to the original are praised, but the gacha system is criticized.
- Blair (via Steam) praises it as an JRPG:
This is a full-fledged Persona 5 game, not a cheap cash grab. It’s more of a JRPG than a gacha.
- WickedSynth (via Steam) finds the game fundamentally good, but leaves a negative review due to the gacha mechanics:
The game is great, very Persona and feels very P5. I would love to talk more about it, but I have one point in this review: I am tired of every IP under the sun getting a gacha game.
- oboVEVO is looking forward to the gameplay hours but misses a proper sequel:
Time to invest another 200 hours in Persona 5 until I realize that Persona 6 will never come out.
Anyone wanting to see for themselves can do so for free on Steam, Android, and iOS. However, if you are susceptible to gacha mechanics or simply do not like them, you should probably stay clear of the game. If you need codes for the game, you will find them in the future here: Persona 5: The Phantom X – All valid codes in June 2025
