The route system in Platinum Games’ action role-playing game, NieR: Automata, was the result of budget constraints from publisher Square Enix.
During an old interview (via Genki_JPN on Twitter/X) from January, 2023, conducted by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, NieR: Automata director Yoko Taro mentioned that the game having multiple routes and endings was due to budget constraints from Square Enix. As a consequence of this limitation, the studio ended up reusing the content it was able to create with the aim of extending playtime to meet expectations from a full-priced game.
“The route system [in NieR Automata] was, well, that was a product of our budget from Square Enix,” revealed Taro. “We couldn’t really make all that much content so we had to reuse it over and over again. I mean, the players had paid for a full-price game. So, fundamentally, the reason for forcing replays was extending the play time. But if we’re going to make them replay it, I didn’t want it to be exactly the same and just raise the difficulty or something. So what if we changed the story a little? That was the kind of the thinking there. But if Square Enix had given us a ton of money we wouldn’t have done the route system at all. Please don’t praise it too highly, or Square Enix will start getting ideas. and then they’ll cut our budgets again.”
Square Enix recently hinted at a NieR: Automata sequel during the game’s ninth anniversary livestream, suggesting that the series may continue beyond its current entry. According to the livestream announcement, the message included the phrase “NieR:Automata to be continued…” The tease arrives as NieR Automata has surpassed 10 million copies shipped and digitally sold worldwide.
NieR: Automata was released in 2017 for PlayStation 4 and PC, in 2018 for Xbox One, and in 2022 for Nintendo Switch.
