Persona 5 series including Persona 5, Persona 5 Royaland side effects such as Persona 5 Tacticsexceeded 13 million sales.
The figure was revealed in Sega financial report for the first quarter of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026. As the company specifies, Persona 5 Royalreleased in 2019, it sold 1.03 million copies in its first year and has since grown to a cumulative total of 7.25 million copies.
“We believe concentrated investment in publishing quality, brand strength enhanced by our transmedia strategy, and worldwide expansion of digital distribution have all contributed to increased repeat sales,” the report to investors said.
Meanwhile, Persona 3 Rebootreleased on February 2, 2024, it has sold over 2.07 million copies since launch. In total, sales of the Persona series have exceeded 23.5 million worldwide.
Sega plans to focus on further transmedia strategy and games as a service.
Back in July Sega President and Chief Operating Officer Shuji Utsumi said that companies with a “good reputation” tend to have strong global Games-as-a-Service (GAAS) business models.
“Strengthening our global GAAS offerings through free-to-play games is a very important element of our strategy to expand our key verticals,” they noted in the financial report. This means launch Persona 5: Phantom X this June, a free-to-play game with microtransactions via gacha rolls, available on mobile and PC.
“By expanding touchpoints around the world, we expect to further enhance the value of the Persona IP and contribute sustainably to our bottom line,” adds Sega.
Meanwhile, the company also spoke about developer Rovio, which it acquired back in August 2023. Sega sees upcoming mobile game Sonic Rumblewhich is scheduled to be released this year as a way to “strive for success in the global market” through a collaboration with Rovio. At the same time Rovio 36 employees were fired just two weeks ago. According to the spokesperson, the layoffs were partly due to Angry Birds Dream Explosion doesn't work as expected.
Regarding Sonic RumbleThe company adds that since this is its first “full-scale global mobile game”, development is “taking longer than expected” due to the emphasis on quality and user feedback.
“By strengthening the GAAS model in this way, we aim to further strengthen tiered revenue structures, such as mille-feuille, as a component that delivers consistent and sustainable returns,” it adds.
Regarding Sega's commitment to transmedia, in addition to Sonic, the Sonic the Hedgehog film franchise. exceeded $1 billion. at the global box office this January – the company plans to expand this strategy to other IPs such as Like a Dragon and Persona. The former received live-action TV show adaptation last year. The strategy includes “film, animation, merchandising, events and other areas.”
In the future, Sega is promoting projects to adapt video based on OutRun And Shinobi. “In the past, games based on films often became hits. This trend has changed recently, with movies and anime based on games achieving great success, reflecting the growing global focus on gaming IP,” the company adds.
In short, Sega reported net sales of ¥81,026 million ($527,669), an operating loss of ¥519 million ($3,379,907), and adjusted EBITDA of ¥1,461 million ($9,512.28).
