Sega Reveals Persona & Yakuza Mobile Games Are Coming

Sega purchased Rovio for $776 million in August 2023 and now the results of this acquisition may be released in the form of new mobile games for Sega IPs like Sonic, Yakuza, and Persona.

As covered by Mobilegamer.biz, Shuji Utsumi, Sega’s CO-COO revealed during Google and Rovio’s Roviocon event in Helsinki that “new Angry Birds animated projects are in the works, and that new Rovio games are coming to PC and console.”

He mentioned that Sega and Rovio are working together on new mobile games based on their own IP, and aside from Sonic, other key IPs like Yakuza and Persona may also get mobile titles.

Calling Mobile a massive platform, he said that Sega also wants to tap further into subscription game services like Xbox Game Pass, Netflix, and Apple Arcade as well as Roblox.

Aside from that, seeing Sonic’s success in films, they are also “committed to Angry Birds animated projects in the future.”

Source: Sega Twitter

When Sega acquired Rovio, it hoped that Rovio would give the former a better foundation in the mobile gaming industry. The acquisition was interesting because although Angry Birds’ viral fame no longer exists with the same intensity, Rovio knows how to make mobile games well. And this is definitely a step in the right direction if Sega wants to bring its iconic IPs to a new market.

Sega Corporation does have a few mobile games out already – Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage, Shin Megami Tensei L Dx2, Fist of the North Star, and SEGA Pocket Club Manager on Google Play.

Meanwhile, there’s Sonic Dream Team, Samba de Amigo: Party-To-Go, Football Manager 2024 Touch, Sonic Dash+, Sonic Racing and more on Apple devices.

The new mobile games won’t be the first of the franchise that were announced or released, though.

Yakuza Online (also called Ryu Ga Gotoku Online or Like A Dragon Online) is a spinoff mobile game of the original series. It was released on Android, iOS, and PC in 2018, developed by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and Sega.

Persona 5: The Phantom X is a mobile game that was announced in March 2023, and officially licensed by Sega and Atlus. This is meant to be a free-to-play title with potential in-app purchases. Players in China have already completed the beta testing phase of this game, and it’s unclear whether the full release will only be in China or worldwide. It’s being developed by Black Wings Game Studio and published by Perfect World Games.

A concept trailer was shared earlier in 2023:

Is the the same game that Shuji Utsumi alluded to or are there more in the works? Time (or leaks) will tell.