According to Sega Sammy’s Annual Integrated Report 2019 released in Japanese on October 1st, Atlus now counts around 300 development staff members. This is 30 more employees than there were last year.
Atlus was acquired by Sega Sammy in September 2013, and subsequently split into its own entity in April 2014. Since then, Atlus has been growing at a steady pace. This momentum increased substantially when the new division, Studio Zero, was founded in December 2016.
Since the formation of Studio Zero, Atlus has been making an active recruitment push for new employees across all three of their major creative departments: 1st Production (Shin Megami Tensei, Etrian Odyssey, other), 2nd Production (Persona), and 3rd Production (Catherine: Full Body, Project Re Fantasy).
Reported Employee Number Per Year
- April 2014: 121 employees
- April 2017: 210 employees
- January 2018: 250 employees
- October 2018: 270 employees
Atlus Company Expansion & Goals
This steady growth is to achieve Atlus’ company goals, outlined in a recruitment page published in April 2017:
- Atlus states that, currently, they are a medium sized developer in the 10-12th class range in the games industry. Their brand power is growing dramatically with the expansion of their userbase due to key titles such as Persona, Shin Megami Tensei and Etrian Odyssey. The company’s reception in the West is increasing accordingly, as well. Atlus aims to be a 5th class company in the games industry by creating new IP and further growing existing series, with “originality and empathy” as the principle policy.
- For the time being, Atlus plans to increase the number of major positions at their company such as planners, programmers, and designers in order to achieve a stable sales goal of 1 million units annually.
Relatedly, a recent job listing has been posted, with Atlus looking for “Event Scene Editing Assistants” specifically for the Persona Team.