Nearly 35 years after the first contribution was released in Japan, the Shin Megami Tensei series has remained a niche; meanwhile, the spinoff franchise Persona has taken over the mainstream cloak. While not quite at the level of Persona 5’s popularity, Shin Megami Tensei has reached a milestone long fans would not have seen coming just a decade ago.
According to the official Atlus West Twitter account, Shin Megami Tensei V has sold 1 million units worldwide. It will be the first game in the franchise to reach this milestone and is the best-selling Shin Megami Tensei game ever. To celebrate, character designer Masayuki Doi drew a new black and white illustration of the main character of Shin Megami Tensei V. Given that it took five months to break this barrier, there is a chance that Shin Megami Tensei may one day achieve the same recognition as Persona.
This news comes months after yet another significant franchise milestone. During Famitsu’s New Year’s article 2022, which compiled greetings from 60 Japanese developers, Atlus shared that Shin Megami Tensei V had sold 800,000 units. At the time, it was already the most successful contribution in the series, surpassing Shin Megami Tensei IV’s lifetime sales in less than two months.
There has never been a better time to be a fan of the series. With Soul Hackers 2 receiving a worldwide release across PlayStation, Xbox and PC in August, it’s safe to say that both Atlus and Sega see the value in the Shin Megami Tensei brand beyond Persona.