Atlus Co., Ltd. (Japanese: 株式会社アトラス | Hepburn: Kabushikigaisha Atorasu, or better known as Atlus) is a Japanese video game developer, publisher, arcade manufacturer, and distribution company based in Tokyo. A subsidiary of Sega, the company is known for video game series such as Megami Tensei, Persona, Etrian Odyssey, and Trauma Center, as well as Print Club (Purikura) arcade machines. Its corporate mascot is Jack Frost, a snowman-like character from the Shin Megami Tensei series. Outside of video games, the company is known for its Purikura arcade machines, which are selfie photo sticker booths popular in East Asia.
Atlus was established in April 1986 and spent its early years as a video game developer for other companies. It became a video game publisher of its own in 1989 and existed until it was merged into Index Corporation in October 2010. After the dissolution, the name Atlus continued as a brand used by Index Corporation for video game publishing until 2013, when it was bought by Sega and revived as a company initially under the name Sega Dream Corporation.
Atlus has three development divisions: Creative Department 1st Production (Team Maniax), Creative Department 2nd Production (P-Studio), and Creative Department 3rd Production (Studio Zero). A North American branch of the company, Atlus West, was founded in 1991 in order to focus on publishing and localizing games for North America, while a European branch, which is handled via the London-based Sega of Europe Division, was founded in 2017.
