Shoji Meguro, best known as the composer for the Persona series, has announced today he is leaving Atlus to pursue indie game development. Meguro has been making RPGs in his spare time as a hobby over the past several years, and applied to the first round of Kodansha Game Lab applicants (a program for Kodansha to find and publish indie titles), which he succeeded in. He’s continuing to work with Atlus on game music, but is now shifting his focus to his dream of indie game development.
インディーゲーム作家に俺はなる！
ということで（株）アトラスを退社してインディーゲーム作家の道に進むことになりました！
とは言え（株）アトラスとは今後も良好な関係を続けていきます。
今後とも目黒将司とともにアトラスサウンドチームにもご期待ください。
詳しくはhttps://t.co/0RpRn3n5Td pic.twitter.com/iaiPEQSMIp— 目黒将司(Shoji Meguro)@MegaRock (@s_megarock) October 27, 2021
Besides composing for Persona 3, 4, and 5 (aka, the three ones people talk about most), Meguro has composed for other Shin Megami Tensei titles like SMT III Nocturne and Digital Devil Saga. He also directed the PSP ports of the first two (or technically three) Persona titles for the PSP, so clearly he has some experience in JRPG game design.
It’s unclear whether Meguro would compose a theoretical Persona 6. The core “P-Studio” development team behind Persona 3, 4, and 5 has already fragmented, with lead director and producer Katsura Hashino hopping to a new Atlus studio (“Studio Zero”) to work on a new title called “Project Re Fantasy.” If and/or when Persona 6 does become a reality, it could now be without two of the people who helped skyrocket the series’ popularity in the first place. Regardless, Meguro will be missed, as his compositions were well-loved by hosts of fans, and we wish him all the luck in his independent endeavors.
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Written by Amelia Fruzzetti
A writer and Nintendo fan based in Seattle, Washington. When not working for NinWire, she can be found eating pasta, writing stories, and wondering about when Mother 3 is finally going to get an official localization.
