Shin Megami Tensei and Persona series character and demon designer Kazuma Kaneko announces his departure from ATLUS after 35 years. He quietly left the company in 2023 and has joined COLOPL, the company known for Shironeko Project.
Kazuma Kaneko’s iconic designs helped shape the identity of the Megami Tensei franchise with the first Shin Megami Tensei game and beyond. Most of the franchise’s vast demon compendium features designs that were created by Kaneko or based on his work. In Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance, his designs are still the basis for demons such as the returning Mastema from Strange Journey, nearly a year after his departure.
Kazuma Kaneko Leaves ATLUS After Three and Half Decades
After leaving ATLUS in 2023, Kazuma Kaneko joined COLOPL to help develop a new intellectual property, or IP for short. In a newly published creator interview conducted by Keisuke Furuyama, Kaneko confirmed that the new project will depict a worldview he created. The new game will “incorporate the latest technology” as well. The interview is available on COLOPL’s official website.
The Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance Godhood Guild is live as a special club for MegaTen fans. Members who sign up at the official website will receive special perks, including sneak peeks of content drops, merch giveaways, and more news. These special perks include exclusive unlisted trailers on YouTube.
ATLUS recently confirmed that Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is Steam Deck verified. This means that the game is fully functional using the Steam Deck’s default configuration and graphics settings, and the text is legible on Steam Deck with proper icons.
Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is coming to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam on June 14 worldwide. The game is available to pre-order now digitally in the PlayStation Store, Microsoft Store, and Steam for $59.99. In addition, physical pre-orders are available now at participating retailers.
