Bad news Persona fans as Atlus has announced that Persona 5 will be delayed until 2016 in Japan and America.

The explanation for the delay is that the developers don’t want to rush or take likely any part of the game. The official press release regarding the reason behind the delay can be seen below.

The strengths of the Persona series are compelling characters, a moving, relatable story, and a borderline obsession with minutiae – elements which can’t be rushed or taken lightly. So while ATLUS realizes the frustration and disappointment that this must cause for the JRPG-loving public, please know that we are delaying the game in order to make sure the next iteration of the Persona series lives up to the expectations of fans.

Delaying a game to make sure every aspect of the game meets the expectations of the development team, as a whole in my opinion is a valid excuse for delaying a game. No one wants to play a game that was rushed out the door or play a game that has some weak links.

While the above delay says, it affects the Japanese and American releases it does include a theoretical European release. I say theoretically as there has been no confirmation of a European release, but I would suspect that NIS America will likely publish the game in Europe as they have published Atlus titles in Europe on multiple occasions including various Persona titles.

For more information on Persona 5, visit http://www.atlus.com/persona5/.