The plot follows Ringo and Figue, manifested agents of the artificial intelligence Aion, as they seek and recruit people from rival groups of Devil Summoners who are key to preventing an approaching apocalypse.

Gameplay has Ringo and her party exploring dungeon environments within a futuristic city, and fighting enemies in turn-based combat.

Soul Hackers 2 was developed by a team incorporating several Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE staff members including Eiji Ishida and Mitsuru Hirata, who worked as co-producers and co-directors, and scenario writer Makoto Miyauchi.

The team collaborated with artist Shirow Miwa on character designs, and composers from the studio Monaca led by Keiichi Okabe to create the soundtrack.

[1][7] Battles are turn-based, with each side getting a set of actions, using both standard attacks and skills assigned to their COMP weapons via Demons.

The Devil Summoners are mostly split between two main factions, Yatagarasu and the Phantom Society, who hold clashing ideological views on humanity's progress.

During the game's opening, a world-ending catastrophe brought by a being called the Great One is predicted by the previously-neutral Aion, a higher artificial intelligence entity that emerged within cyberspace.

Investigating the death of researcher Ichiro Onda and disappearance of senior Yatagarasu member Mangetsu Kuzunoha, the group eventually discover Iron Mask is searching for the Covenants, five magical entities acting as symbols of an ancient pact with the Great One.

Figue later reveals Kuzunoha created a false Covenant for himself, sealing the original inside Arrow and blocking his memories to hide its presence.

Transferring Arrow's Covenant to Figue, the group stop Milady from attacking the orphanage in revenge for Iron Mask's death, then end up in a final duel with Raven.

A devastated Figue decides to use the Covenants to enact a humanity-wide Soul Hack and remove the will for conflict, causing Aion to shut down as her will overrides it.

[11] Since the release of the original Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers in 1997, the Megami Tensei franchise had grown increasingly popular, particularly through its Persona subseries.

[10] Compared to the original game's 2D first-person design, Soul Hackers 2 used a 3D third-person perspective to promote immersion and a more cinematic style.

[11] The COMP devices were redesigned, retaining established elements while expanded in function to fit in with the new setting and game mechanics.

[10] A returning theme was technology and the occult colliding in the modern world, taking this as the inspiration for a non-human lead character.

[13] Contrasting against the dystopian themes of the original Soul Hackers, the team opted for a story showing commonality between fighting groups and how a non-human being would view and interact with them.

She was also made a more active participant in events than previous Megami Tensei protagonists, and the playable cast were all given in-depth stories tying into the conflicts between Summoner clans.

The soundtrack was collaboratively composed and arranged by Keiichi Okabe, Keigo Hoashi, Kuniyuki Takahashi, Shotaro Seo, Oliver Good and Keita Inoue.

[17] Hirata described Monaca as "the perfect choice" for handling the game's music, due to its theme of clashing ideals and the meeting of technology and magic.

[27][28] The different Editions came with a self-contained story campaign dubbed "The Lost Numbers", an extra difficulty level, booster items, additional demons, costume and music packs based on other Megami Tensei titles included the original Soul Hackers, and two additional costumes for the Digital Premium Edition.

[30] An additional update was released in November 2022, adding a "dash" for running in dungeons, a "Speed Up" mode that makes the battle animations faster, and four new demons, among other adjustments.

IGN reviewer Cameron Hawkins called the story and characters engaging, but found the level design "uninspired".

[36] Willa Rowe of Inverse said that the DLC was enjoyable but was essentially necessary for a good experience with the base content, bringing more gameplay variety to the otherwise repetitive dungeons.

[45] According to the NPD Group, Soul Hackers 2 was the 15th best-selling title of August 2022, and the third-highest new release after Madden NFL 23 and the Saint's Row reboot.