Free spinoff Persona 5 The Phantom X has beaten P5R's Steam record in one day

After much teasing, Persona 5 The Phantom X is finally out worldwide, and it's off to an impressive start on Steam. The latest in a long line of spinoffs for the iconic JRPG, it was previously only available in a small handful of Asian territories, but it's now arrived for everyone. P5X, as it's become known for short, takes us back to Tokyo for another adventure with a new protagonist and a broad cast of potential Phantom Thieves ready to dive into palaces and change hearts. Available free on Steam, it's already surpassed its elder sibling's record player count in just its first few hours.

Persona 5 Royal has remained a proud member of our best JRPGs list even alongside the launch of its fantasy cousin, Metaphor Refantazio, and new installment Persona 5 The Phantom X transforms it into a free Steam game with a fresh cast leading the way. It strips out the traditional calendar format of the original in favor of an energy system used for daily activities, and employs random-chance gacha mechanics to unlock more characters, similar to the likes of Genshin Impact.

Alongside your self-named protagonist, who goes by the codename 'Wonder,' there are a wide variety of accomplices you can recruit to join your incarnation of the Phantom Thieves. This includes a wide range of newcomers, but several members of the original cast are already available to be brought onto the team through the gacha system, including Joker, Morgana, Ryuji, and Ann.

All the core components of Persona are present, from palaces and side dungeons to Mementos and social links, along with a new mode called The Velvet Trials. Your days are spent at school, attending clubs, or working part-time jobs, while at night you head into the Metaverse to battle. You can even conjure special versions of your Confidants to fight alongside you through a new mechanic called Phantom Idols.

Having just launched today, Thursday June 26, Persona 5 The Phantom X has already broken P5R's Steam player count record, with more than 40,000 active users and counting at the time of writing. Given that it's free to play, and that Persona 5 didn't arrive on the platform until several years after its initial console launch, it's not too surprising that P5X has managed to achieve this, but to see it happen so quickly is certainly impressive.

If you're curious to give it a try, be sure to check our Persona 5 The Phantom X tier list, which runs down the best characters and explains how to reroll in P5X to ensure you end up with the strongest team of Phantom Thieves possible.

We've also got the latest updates on all Persona 5 The Phantom X codes that are currently available, which are likely to be a regular resource for free materials and currency. Alternatively, take a look through the best gacha games on PC in 2025.

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