Atlus’Megami Tenseiseries is an incredibly diverse franchise of game releases, much like Square Enix’sFinal Fantasyfranchise. Since the originalMegami Tensei’s release in 1987, subseries have includedShin Megami Tensei,Devil Summoner,Devil Survivor,Persona, and more. Where exactlyDevil Summoner: Soul Hackersfits in that genealogy is complicated, but what matters is that the JRPG is unique and has its own cult fanbase. That’s probably why it appears Atlus is teasing the announcement of a newSoul Hackersgame coming next week.An official website fromAtlusand Sega with the URL soul-hackers.jp has appeared online featuring a countdown. There are two important parts to the countdown. First, a handy message above the countdown reading, “Hack Begins: 2025-08-02 FRI. 12:00.” Then there’s the countdown, which should expire at 7:00 PM on Monday, February 21. In other words, the “Hack Begins” this Friday, but the countdown will end next Monday.RELATED:Persona 2 and 3 Are Getting Nendoroid FiguresWhat Atlus will likely do is release a teaser or trailer for its upcomingSoul Hackersannouncement on Friday, or perhaps something smaller having to do with the website. Then, Atlus could fully unveil the project next Monday, whatever it could be. It’s a unique way to host a countdown, which is typically used to build up hype using mystery and speculation. Atlus and Sega appear to have already given away the heart of the announcement. Now it’s just a matter of waiting for the meat of the reveal.
One lingering significant question is whether this newSoul Hackersproject is planned for a global release or for a western release at all. While the countdown website itself does feature English, the social media account linked on the website is Japanese-only. However, it’s also true that Atlus self-publishes in Japan.Sega’s involvementwould mean that the game is being published in North America, too.
SomeShin Megami Tenseiand Atlus JRPG fans may be wondering what exactlySoul Hackersis. That’s an answer complicated by Atlus' historically flakey localization efforts and the resulting confusing naming conventions. Fans in North America may only recognizeDevil Summoneras the name of two PS2 action-RPGs,Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless ArmyandDevil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon. The truth is, these are two prequel games for the mainDevil Summonerseries. There’sShin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner, a 1995 RPG for Sega Saturn that was never localized, and its sequel,Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers, another Sega Saturn RPG that was only ported to the west in 2013 for Nintendo 3DS.
What that means is thatDevil Summoner: Soul Hackersis technicallyDevil Summoner 2, a sequel to a game never released in the USA. The brand has been muddied by the action games that took theDevil Summonername, so Atlus appears to be releasing this new title as just anewSoul Hackersgamewith no mention ofDevil Summoner. It could, at its heart, be aDevil Summonergame, or it could be nothing like the originalDevil Summoneror the firstSoul Hackers, either. It’ll be interesting to see what Atlus has put together.
ASoul Hackersproject appears to be planned for an announcement soon.
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