'Persona 5' Stream Ban: Atlus Threatens Twitch Streamers Who Spoil Too Much

If you want to stream Persona 5 on a broadcast service like Twitch, developer Atlus has some strict rules on what you can show and may file copyright claims and ban users who stream too far into the game.

The news comes via a post from Atlus celebrating the Persona 5's worldwide launch Tuesday. Atlus gives some general guidelines for what it wants to have streamed and discussed, with a heavy emphasis on avoiding spoilers or specific plot points for the game. For instance, Atlus encourages broadcasters to use “broad strokes” when talking about the game and avoid mentioning characters or notable events.

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However, Atlus will take a stricter approach to Persona 5 streamers who go too far into the game. From the post:

This being a Japanese title with a single-playthrough story means our masters in Japan are very wary about it. Sharing is currently blocked through the native PS4 UI. However, if you do plan on streaming, video guidelines above apply except length. If you decide to stream past 7/7 (I HIGHLY RECOMMEND NOT DOING THIS, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED), you do so at the risk of being issued a content ID claim or worse, a channel strike/account suspension.

The policy blocks off much of the game for streamers — 7/7 refers to July 7 within Persona 5 ’s in-game calendar — and so far, it’s been poorly received by many Persona 5 fans.

“What are they trying to protect by doing this?” Reddit user I_Never_Sleep_Ever said. “People who can't wait and watch a twitch stream and spoil it for themselves? Or are they just taking spoilers THAT seriously? Either way, this is going to blow up on Atlus just because they made a big deal about it.”

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While Persona 5 launched worldwide Tuesday, it’s been available in Japan since September 2016. And with the booming popularity of streaming sites like Twitch and social media in general, trying to tamp down on any publicly streamed discussion of spoilers for the game seems difficult, to put it mildly. The Persona 5 streaming ban seems like an issue that won't be going away any time soon.