In March 2023, with the launch of Season 3 of *Overwatch 2*, Blizzard introduced its first collaboration with another popular franchise: *One Punch Man*. While a few more partnerships followed, the *Cowboy Bebop* crossover in Season 9, almost a year later, marked a significant change. Since then, *Overwatch 2* has featured at least one collaboration each season, and now, in Season 18, the Phantom Thieves from *Persona 5* have arrived in the game with new skins, challenges, and hidden surprises.
A funny but worrying pattern has emerged with live service games that partner with *Persona 5*: they often get cancelled shortly after. This has happened enough times that fans jokingly call it the “*Persona 5* Curse.” While the *Overwatch 2* and *Persona 5* collaboration likely won’t hurt the game, some online believe the curse could still strike.
What Is the Persona 5 Collab Curse?
And Will It Affect Overwatch 2?
Games have been crossing over with each other for a while, but it’s become much more common recently, especially with games like Fortnite. Players enjoy when different game worlds combine, and these partnerships are also very profitable for the companies involved.
Honestly, it’s no shock *Persona 5* is always getting collabs. It won Best RPG at The Game Awards back in 2017, and could’ve even been Game of the Year if *Breath of the Wild* hadn’t been so amazing! I figure any game that teams up with *Persona 5* is pretty much guaranteed to be a hit.
Interestingly, several live service games that featured a collaboration with *Persona 5* have subsequently shut down. This happened with games like *Dragalia Lost*, *Nier Reincarnation*, *Fullmetal Alchemist Mobile*, *Sword Art Online: Memory Defrag*, and *War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius*. While it’s impossible to say for sure if the collaboration *caused* these games to end service, the pattern is definitely noteworthy.
All Live Service Games Persona 5 Has Crossed Over With
| Game | Global Release Date | Collaboration Start Date | Mobile | End of Service Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Puzzle & Dragons | November 8, 2012 | April 27, 2018 | ✔ | Still Live |
| Granblue Fantasy | March 10, 2014 (JP Only) | February 9, 2023 | ✔ | Still Live |
| Love Live! School Idol Festival | May 11, 2014 | October 31, 2021 | ✔ | March 31, 2023 |
| Chain Chronicle | December 8, 2014 | January 19, 2017 (JP Only) | ✔ | February 29, 2016 (JP Still Live) |
| Wonderland Wars | February 19, 2015 (JP Only) | June 17, 2019 | X | Still Live |
| Sword Art Online: Memory Defrag | January 24, 2017 | February 17, 2020 | ✔ | August 30, 2021 |
| Another Eden | April 12, 2017 | December 12, 2019 | ✔ | Still Live |
| Sword Art Online: Integral Factor | December 2, 2017 | February 17, 2020 | ✔ | Still Live |
| BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! | April 4, 2018 | February 17, 2019 | ✔ | Still Live |
| Kotodaman | April 15, 2018 (JP Only) | March 5, 2019 | ✔ | Still Live |
| AFK Arena | June 21, 2018 | December 30, 2020 | ✔ | Still Live |
| Identity V | July 5, 2018 | November 7, 2019 | ✔ | Still Live |
| Star Ocean: Anamnesis | July 10, 2018 | October 10, 2019 | ✔ | November 5, 2019 |
| Dragalia Lost | September 27, 2018 | January 31, 2021 | ✔ | November 30, 2022 |
| Last Cloudia | October 17, 2019 | May 19, 2022 | ✔ | Still Live |
| War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius | March 25, 2020 | April 27, 2022 | ✔ | May 29, 2025 (JP Still Live) |
| Phantasy Star Online 2 | August 5, 2020 | September 8, 2020 | X | Still Live |
| Nier Reincarnation | February 18, 2021 | September 9, 2022 | ✔ | April 30, 2024 |
| Alchemy Stars | June 17, 2021 | July 14, 2022 | ✔ | January 24, 2025 |
| M Hold’Em | July 1, 2021 (JP Only) | December 6, 2021 | ✔ | Still Live |
| Naraka: Bladepoint | August 12, 2021 | June 18, 2025 | X | Still Live |
| Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage! | December 7, 2021 | August 4, 2025 | ✔ | Still Live |
| Overwatch 2 | October 4, 2022 | September 16, 2025 | X | Still Live |
| Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds | September 25, 2025 | September 25, 2025 | X | To Be Released |
Despite claims of a ‘Persona 5 Curse,’ several live service games that have partnered with Persona 5 are still thriving. Games like Granblue Fantasy, Puzzle & Dragons, and AFK Arena have all successfully collaborated with the JRPG and continue to operate years later. This demonstrates that a Persona 5 collaboration doesn’t automatically lead to a game’s downfall, and the idea of a ‘curse’ is likely just a case of noticing failures and ignoring successes – confirmation bias.
It’s worth pointing out that all the recently cancelled games were online mobile games, mostly of the ‘gacha’ type. This market is very crowded, with just a few major games – like *Genshin Impact*, *Honkai Star Rail*, and *Fate: Grand Order* – taking up most of the player base. Smaller games have to compete for the remaining players, sometimes by partnering with popular franchises like *Persona 5*. Therefore, these games were likely already facing difficulties before collaborating with *Persona 5*, and the partnership wasn’t enough to keep them going.
Don’t worry, *Overwatch 2* isn’t going anywhere soon. It’s a full PC and console game, and while it has optional cosmetic items you can purchase, it doesn’t rely on predatory ‘gacha’ mechanics. In fact, the game is currently thriving, with recent updates like Perks and Stadium bringing in a lot of players. While any game could eventually be discontinued, it definitely won’t be due to the success of *Persona 5*.
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2025-09-18 03:41