Personafans are still holding out for a new installation in the franchise as a part of its ongoing 25th-anniversary celebration, but Atlus recently revealed that it has some different plans in mind. Later this year, Atlus will releaseSoul Hackers 2, a sequel to the 25-year-oldShin Megami TenseispinoffDevil Summoner: Soul Hackers.WhileSoul Hackers 2comes as a surprise, it certainly looks compelling. The unexpected sequel still shows a lot of itsSMTroots, but its high-tech aesthetic gives it a unique vibe, and the mechanics that it borrows from thePersonaseries will serve it well among Atlus' growing audience.
Althoughmuch aboutSoul Hackers 2looks praiseworthyso far, there’s one thing about the upcoming game that’s strange. Atlus doesn’t appear to have plans to releaseSoul Hackers 2on the Nintendo Switch, in spite of recent movements that suggest Atlus wants to establish a strong audience on Nintendo’s console.Soul Hackers 2seems like it would thrive on the Switch, so skipping this platform in favor of the Xbox is baffling. Atlus should have givenSoul Hackers 2a chance on every current console, rather than limiting it to its current list of platforms.
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Atlus and the Switch’s Relationship
The last few years of Atlus titles have strongly suggested that Atlus wants to release games on the Switch more consistently. WhilePersona 5isn’t on the Switch yet, Atlus has started releasingPersonaside games likePersona 5 StrikersandPersona 4 Arena Ultimaxon the Switch more frequently. What’s more, Switch users got exclusive access toShin Megami Tensei 5andShin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne HD Remaster,thoroughly establishingShin Megami Tenseias a part of the Switch’s library. As theSMTandPersonafanbase expands, it only makes sense that Atlus would try to establish a presence on more consoles so that more fans can enjoy its games.
Technically,Soul Hackers 2does reach out to a new console. Even thoughPersonaandShin Megami Tenseihave been absent from Microsoft consoles in the last few years,Soul Hackers 2will be available on both Xbox One and Xbox Series X, among others. Trying to court Xbox fans withSoul Hackers 2makes sense in a vacuum, but unfortunately, the move seemingly comes at the cost of a Switch version. Plenty of games release on PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch all at once, so it’s strange to see thatSoul Hackers 2will skip Nintendo’s console without any apparent reason, especially when Atlus could be capitalizing on an established audience of Switch fans.
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A Future Soul Hackers 2 Release
It’s hard to say if the Xbox versions ofSoul Hackers 2have anything to do with the lack of a Switch release. MaybeSoul Hackers 2demands more processing and rendering power than Atlus has let on, meaning it’ssimply not viable on the Switchright now. In that case, branching out to the Xbox instead makes more sense. There’s no knowing yet if that’s the case, though. Atlus may have plans to bringSoul Hackers 2to the Switch later, after making some adjustments to accommodate its hardware. Either way, though, it’s a shame thatSoul Hackers 2won’t release on every major game platform at once.
Soul Hackers 2’s mysterious absence from the Switch release calendar highlights a longstanding complaint that fans have had with Atlus. The company sometimes lacks consistency when choosing release platforms for its games;some titles are PlayStation exclusives, while others are available on a multitude of platforms. Whether these choices are due to game development obstacles or Atlus' generally cautious outlook is unclear, but whatever the case,Soul Hackers 2falls into that pattern. It may not be destined for a launch on the Switch, but maybeSoul Hackers 2will come around to Nintendo fans someday.
Soul Hackers 2releases June 28, 2025, for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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