Nier Automata "to be continued," Square Enix says, giving stunned fans some hope as the Yoko Taro-led JRPG flies past 10 million copies sold

A screenshot of one of the best RPGs ever made, Nier: Automata — (Image credit: Square Enix)

Almost a decade after Nier Automata's slick action and existential pondering, Square Enix has finally given fans the teaser they've been waiting for.

The publisher today released a celebratory trailer looking back at nearly 10 years of the beloved JRPG, while flicking through everything from iconic in-game moments to the Nier Orchestral Concert and even the countless times protag 2B has crossed over into other games.

『NieR:Automata／ニーアオートマタ』1,000万本突破記念PV - YouTube

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Square Enix then closed out the trailer with the announcement that the robot-bashing game has flied past 10 million copies sold along with an even more important tease: "Nier: Automata to be continued." It's our first semi-solid confirmation that there's a proper follow-up in the pipeline, even though the wording leaves things up to interpretation.

Whether the tease is referencing a full sequel, another spin-off, a commitment to more Automata-adjacent projects, or something else entirely is currently unclear. You can also read it as 'Nier Automata 2B continued', and if I were a pessimistic person, I would think this was Square Enix threatening to never end its conveyor belt of 2B merch.

Many of Nier Automata's lead developers were working on a mysterious project together as recently as last summer, encouragingly, so a Nier 3 or Nier: Something Something does seem like a matter of when and not if.

Nier director Yoko Taro also recently said he's not lazy, contrary to popular opinion; it's just that his recent game projects keep getting canceled, which could possibly explain the long wait between Nier Automata and whatever game inevitably comes next.

"I'm just such a warped person": Nier creator Yoko Taro says he's "insufferable at work" and feels jealous of devs with "a place to belong."