is an upcoming role-playing video game in development by Atlus. It is part of the Shin Megami Tensei series, itself a part of the larger Megami Tensei franchise, and is scheduled for release on the Nintendo Switch in 2021. It is produced by Shin Megami Tensei IV director Kazuyuki Yamai, and is designed as a hybrid between and Shin Megami Tensei IV, featuring returning gameplay mechanics such as raising and fusing demons.
Overview
Shin Megami Tensei V is a role-playing video game set in modern-day Tokyo. It will feature returning gameplay elements from previous Shin Megami Tensei games, such as the ability to fuse demons, along with new mechanics.
Development
Shin Megami Tensei V is being developed by Atlus, and is produced by Kazuyuki Yamai, who previously directed Shin Megami Tensei IV. One of the development team's goals with the game is to depict and sympathize with the "characteristics of the times", such as unemployment, unease about retirement, terrorism and nuclear weapons, and problems at home. The game is developed as a hybrid between the "profound charm" of and the demon-raising gameplay in Shin Megami Tensei IV. Development is done using the game engineUnreal Engine 4, a first for Atlus; according to Yamai, moving to Unreal Engine 4 changed the way they create games, as the ability to create something and immediately see it within the game allows them to spend more time on trial and error and coming up with ideas. The decision to develop the game for the Nintendo Switch was made as Yamai liked its portability combined with its capability for HD games, although there were some challenges involved since Shin Megami Tensei V is Atlus's first game developed for the platform. The higher hardware capabilities of the Nintendo Switch meant that the demons in the game are developed to match, and take approximately three times as long to develop compared to demons in previous Shin Megami Tensei games for older platforms. The game was revealed in January 2017 as part of Nintendo's unveiling of the Nintendo Switch console, in the form of a teaser trailer featuring a destroyed office building and a number of demons. At the time of the announcement, development had just started, and the game was presented as Shin Megami Tensei: Brand New Title; the Shin Megami Tensei V title was announced in October of the same year, to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the original Shin Megami Tensei, along with a new trailer showing a modern-day Tokyo train station and a post-apocalyptic city scene. At this point, Yamai described development as not even far enough for Atlus to be able to say "coming soon". By February 2018, he described the project as having entered "full-scale development", with more and more Atlus staff joining the production. Although Atlus USA did not initially know whether they would get to localize the game for the Western market, they still sent out a press release about the game's announcement in January 2017; an international release was announced in November 2017. Responding to worries about the development's progress following a lack of status updates, Atlus reaffirmed in 2019 that the game was still in active development. In July 2020, a trailer was shown during a Nintendo Direct presentation, announcing a worldwide, simultaneous release date of 2021.
