Here is a piece of Persona news that you probably never saw coming. A companion smartphone app for the Persona series is currently in development in Japan.

Persona O.A. is an upcoming mobile phone app that is dedicated to providing fans with news about the series. There is also a game that will allow you to experience the conversation events from the series, that you usually go through when raising a character's Social Link. Completing these events will allow you to earn points, which can be used to summon a Persona of your own.

It's likely that this app will also provide information on upcoming Shin Megami Tensei games as well, seeing as how Persona is a spinoff from that series. We know that Shin Megami Tensei V is currently in development for the Nintendo Switch. Persona Q2 has also been announced for the Nintendo 3DS, which will star the Phantom Thieves from Persona 5, who will likely team up with the casts of Persona 3 & 4. 

Persona 3: Dancing Moon Night and Persona 5: Dancing Star Night are also due to come out in Japan in May, with a worldwide release expected to follow.

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Persona O.A. won't be the only smartphone app associated with the series, as a Shin Megami Tensei game has also been released for mobile phones. Dx2 Shin Megami Tensei Liberation is currently available in Japan, with a worldwide release planned for 2018. There have also been several episodic Shin Megami Tensei games released in Japan in the past.

The Persona & Shin Megami Tensei series are tailor-made for mobile phones. These are turn-based JRPGs, which means that they can avoid the usual smartphone game problem of being playable on a touchscreen. The earlier Shin Megami Tensei games also involved exploring dungeons from a first-person perspective, which is also something that is simple enough to recreate on a phone.

If Dx2 Shin Megami Tensei and Persona O.A. perform well, then we may see future installments of the series being released on mobile phones. There is also a chance that some of the older titles will be remade for smartphones, which will mean that these games could be available to play in English for the first time.

Persona O.A. is due for a Spring 2018 release in Japan. A worldwide release will likely come after that.