Why Do Gacha Games Shut Down after Collabing with Persona 5?

The “Persona 5 Curse”

The video examines a running joke in the gacha community: games supposedly shut down within a few years of collaborating with Persona 5. The creator emphasizes that a collaboration is not a credible cause of a game’s closure. Games shut down for many reasons, including poor performance and business decisions; the apparent pattern is a memorable coincidence, not proof of causation.

Why Persona 5 Is a Popular Collaborator

Collaborations can attract fans from other communities and boost attention, revenue, and character sales. Limited-time events may also encourage players to participate before they disappear.

Persona 5 is an appealing partner because it has broad recognition, memorable characters, and a distinctive style. Its cast is also relatively easy to adapt to both 2D and 3D games.

Collaborations Discussed

• Granblue Fantasy — The 2018 event gave players Joker for free and included voiced scenes featuring the cast. The creator praises the music and effort. The game remains active. Rating: 4/5.
• Puzzles & Dragons — Offered playable character avatars and Persona music, but apparently little story or special presentation. The game remains active. Rating: 1/5.
• Dragalia Lost — Its Persona 5 Strikers crossover included characters, an unvoiced story, a boss fight, visual touches, and Strikers music. The game ended service in 2022, about a year and a half after the collaboration. The video points to business and creative issues as more plausible factors than Persona 5. Rating: 3/5.
• AFK Arena — Featured Joker and Queen, with character animations but little story. The game remains active. Rating: 2/5.
• Star Ocean: Anamnesis — The Japanese version featured crossover units and a new track with Lotus Juice; the collaboration was not released globally. The Japanese service ended in 2021, roughly a year and a half after the event. Rating: 3/5.
• Project Sekai and BanG Dream! — Rather than adding Persona characters, both rhythm games featured covers of Persona songs and themed costumes. Both remain active. Rating: 3/5 each.
• Love Live! School Idol Festival — Used a similar approach, with themed costumes and song covers. It ended service in 2023, around two years after the collaboration.
• NieR Re[in]carnation — Included summonable characters, an event story, themed UI elements, and character animations. It ended service on April 30, 2024. Rating: 3/5.
• Sword Art Online: Memory Defrag — A side-scrolling action game with an unvoiced crossover story. It shut down in 2021; the creator notes that an offline version exists. Rating: 2/5.
• Another Eden — A turn-based, time-travel JRPG with two Persona collaborations. Its event stories and characters remain playable, and the game is still active. Rating: 4/5.
• Fullmetal Alchemist Mobile — A Japan-only, fully voiced tactical game with tile-based combat. Its crossover closely recreated Persona-style locations and presentation. It shut down in 2024. Rating: 4/5.
• Alchemy Stars — Its tile-connecting combat game had an unvoiced event story and Persona-inspired UI. The service ended in January of the year before the video was made. Rating: 3/5.
• Persona 5: The Phantom X — The mobile spin-off recreated Kamoshida’s Palace, including its layout and boss fight, and brought back the original voice actors. The creator rates it 5/5 as a crossover, while joking that it is essentially Persona 5 inside another gacha game.
• Heaven Burns Red — Mentioned as an upcoming Persona 5 collaborator. The creator wonders how the crossover will work and whether the game will “survive the curse”; its fate is still unknown.

Closing Note

The video concludes that Persona 5’s continued popularity makes it an attractive crossover partner. The “curse” will likely remain a joke as long as the series continues to produce collaborations.

Featured creator and notable names: Psyche (Pseychie), Lotus Juice, and Yoko Taro.