There are few modern JRPG series more beloved than Shin Megami Tensei: Persona. Started in 1996 in Japan and gaining prominence in the US in the early part of the 21st century, the series -- popularly known simply as Persona -- has gained a considerable following around the world.

Index Corporation's registration of persona5.jp.

The older registration of persona5.com, possibly by a squatter.

And now, the long-awaited fifth entry in the core series -- presumably called Persona 5 Internet sleuths on gaming message board NeoGAF discovered a WHOIS registry for persona5.jp. What makes this significant is that it’s registered to the Index Corporation, the parent company of series developer and publisher Atlus. So this isn’t someone simply squatting on the name, as is likely the case with persona5.com (though persona5.com could also be owned by a middleman on behalf of Index and Atlus).Could this an indication that Atlus is getting its ducks in a row for the game’s reveal? It certainly could be, though it’s important to note that Index Corporation filed for bankruptcy protection mere days after persona5.jp was secured.Either way, we’ve known Persona 5 has been in development for a while. Rumors about it began emerging back in 2009 ; Atlus confirmed a new Persona game was being made the following year . It wasn’t until 2011 that Atlus confirmed Persona 5 itself was in development. All has been quiet since, with the exception of a few new details concerning the game.Persona 4 was the last core game to be released in the series, coming out in 2008 on the PlayStation 2. Persona 4 Arena -- a fighting game -- was released in 2012, and re-releases of the original four games have come to PlayStation handhelds in the years since Persona 4’s release, most recently with Persona 4 Golden on PS Vita.It remains to be seen which console or consoles Persona 5 will eventually launch on. With the exception of the very first game, which was released on PC as well as PSone, each core Persona game is a PlayStation exclusive. However, with Atlus’ inclination towards multi-platform releases in recent years, most notably with Catherine and most recently with Persona 4 Arena, it’s safe to assume that Persona 5 may not be exclusive to the PlayStation ecosystem.We’ve reached out to Atlus for any comment and will update when we hear back.

Colin Moriarty is IGN’s Senior Editor. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN and learn just how sad the life of a New York Islanders and New York Jets fan can be.