Persona 5 Release Date Announced for Japan, Watch New Trailer Here

The Persona 5 countdown clock has ended, and some big news has been announced. During a livestream event today, Atlus confirmed that Persona 5 will launch on September 15, 2016 in Japan. A release date for western markets has not been confirmed at this point.

An "Anniversary Edition" of Persona 5 has also been announced, featuring an art book, the game's soundtrack, DLC, and more. 2016 marks the 20th anniversary of Persona, which debuted in 1996.

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Persona 5 was originally expected to launch in 2015, but in September 2015, Atlus revealed it had been delayed. The PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 title was then given a vague summer 2016 window.

The game follows a ragtag group of high school students that feel like they don't have a place in society, but are drawn together by a common goal after discovering the Isekai-Navi. Branding themselves the "Phantom Thieves of Hearts," they use the Isekai-Navi to enter the hearts of people and steal their malicious intent.

Also during the broadcast, Atlus aired a new trailer, which contained fresh footage and confirmed the release date. Take a look:

Additionally, a Persona anime series called "The Day Breakers" was also announced, according to NeoGAF.

Persona 5 director Katsura Hashino previously said Atlus is "going with a challenge that fuses together a juvenile school setting that is as large as life, together with a picaresque romance."

"In the previous game, we wrote a story that involved having a justice group chase down a bad guy that could easily be feared by just about anyone," he said.

"This time, it's about a group of high school students that are being 'chased' by unexpected occurrences due to the justice they believe in. We're writing [the story] to convey a thrilling everyday life in the shoes of these characters, that are as large as life, in this juvenile school setting."