Nier: Automata has sold 7.5 million copies and there's still no sign of a sequel

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Creator Yoko Taro jokes that "he'd do anything for money"... but it seems he won't do that.

Nier Automata key art with 2B and a machine
(Image credit: Square Enix)

2017's Nier: Automata is an amazing videogame, one of those whose legend has slowly grown over the years as more players discover its labyrinthine, looping structure and the many bizarre and tragic elements that make up this singular universe. Six years on from release, the official Twitter account has shared the welcome news that the game, often described as a cult classic or similar, has sold a remarkable 7.5 million copies.

"It seems that 7.5 million copies have been sold," wrote series creator Yoko Taro (via machine translation). "It's so awesome that it makes me dizzy. I can't exceed this number for the rest of my life… I can only thank everyone who supported me...!"

Next to Taro's usual pronouncements, that comes across as quite sweet.

So… sequel when? Or a new Nier game? Fans have been desperate to know for years, while Taro jokes that he'd do "anything for money" and the next Nier game could come out tomorrow or in 35 years. There was a mobile game in 2021 alongside a remastered version of the original Nier, but no new Nier game for PC or consoles has been announced by Square Enix even though the series does remain active: an anime based on Automata premiered in Japan earlier this year.

As for his current projects, Taro says he's taking a less hands-on role than he once did, reasoning that the games will turn out better if "this elderly man was only vaguely, loosely associated with them." Such self-deprecation is typical of Taro, who loves to joke around and tease Nier fans.

Nier: Automata continues to enjoy quite the afterlife. Fans discovered a secret that had lay hidden in the game for five years, a find that only deepened the appetite for what else it may contain, which is probably what inspired some hoaxers to invent a new mystery that quickly got out of hand.

Rich Stanton
Rich Stanton
Senior Editor

Rich is a games journalist with 15 years' experience, beginning his career on Edge magazine before working for a wide range of outlets, including Ars Technica, Eurogamer, GamesRadar+, Gamespot, the Guardian, IGN, the New Statesman, Polygon, and Vice. He was the editor of Kotaku UK, the UK arm of Kotaku, for three years before joining PC Gamer. He is the author of a Brief History of Video Games, a full history of the medium, which the Midwest Book Review described as "[a] must-read for serious minded game historians and curious video game connoisseurs alike."