Fresh off of the Japanese release of Shin Megami Tensei IV, it’s been confirmed via NeoGAF that Index Corp., the parent company of Atlus, had registered persona5.jp. Currently the domain leads to the domain registrar’s site, Onamae (think Japanese GoDaddy in terms of function). However when you pass the domain through a whois, The registrant is Index Corp. The last game in this Megaten sub-series, Persona 4, released in 2008. The Vita version, Persona 4 Golden, was released in late 2012.

The Persona team tested the waters of making games on HD consoles with Catherine, a puzzler that followed the exploits of Vincent and his fear of being unfaithful to his fiance. Following the successful release of Catherine, it was said that the team began work on the next Persona game, but not much was heard since.

Recently, Index Corp. had to file for bankruptcy following a fraud investigation after it was discovered to be round-tripping its finances. Many fans wondered if this meant the end for Atlus. Atlus USA dispelled any rumors that their branch was in danger, stating that things would resume as normal and that Shin Megami Tensei IV and Dragon’s Crown would release as scheduled.

As for the Japanese branch, it will not close down. Currently, it’s the parent company that is in trouble. What may happen to Atlus is that they’ll probably be sold off to another company so that Index could pay off its debts. Think of it as when THQ filed for bankruptcy. The companies and series it owned, like Volition, the Homefront series, and the Metro series, were sold off to other companies (sadly can’t say the same for Vigil Entertainment).

So unfortunately, if Index Corp. can’t pay off its debt, this 18-year-old company is kaput. Atlus though will live under the umbrella of another company, mostly likely continuing development of Persona 5.

Atlus parent company registers Persona 5 domain [Destructoid]