Katsura Hashino, who, after directing Catherine, Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona 5, and now Metaphor: ReFantazio, we consider to be one of the greats, is already back at work. Intriguingly, while details regarding Studio Zero's next game are exceedingly scant, we know it won't be another Persona; what direction Hashino ultimately decides to go remains to be seen.
Relayed by GamesRadar+, the studio head recently spoke to Famitsu alongside Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama and was asked what he plans on working on next, to which he said: "Oh, I have already started." Hashino explains that it is less a question of "what to do as an individual"; instead, he must consider the company writ large and the player: "I look at Atlus as a whole and think about what is best for our team to create right now. Firstly, I want the users to be happy, and as a result, I hope the company will also be happy. That is how I always work."
Atlus operates under a reasonably labyrinthine studio structure and, like Square Enix, has a flair for departmental naming conventions. Following the release of the landmark Persona 5, Hashino stepped down from his role at Creative Department 2nd Production, better known as P-Studio, which is now headed by Kazuhisa Wada.
Creative Department 3rd Production, or Studio Zero, is Hashino's personal fiefdom, and with Metaphor out in the wild, he is free to continue its mandate to create new IP unrelated to Persona. Creative Department 1st Production, Team Maniax, if you hadn't guessed, is the shepherd of the Shin Megami Tensei franchise and handles the Nintendo-exclusive Trauma Center and Etrian Odyssey series.