New Nier Game Potentially in Development

The original creative leaders of the Drakengard franchise’s spinoff series are working on a new game together, and many suspect it could be a third mainline Nier title. The original Nier was released in 2010, but it was its 2017 follow-up, Nier: Automat,a that largely put the series on the map. Since then, a 2021 remaster of the original title, named Nier Replicant, helped get new fans up to speed on the origins of the spinoff series, and Nier Reincarnation was released that same year on mobile but was shut down in 2024.

This year, the Nier series is having its 15th anniversary. To celebrate, publisher Square Enix hosted a two-hour livestream a few weeks ago where many were expecting news about what’s next for the beloved action series. Instead, Square announced the launch of Nier’s 15th anniversary website, which serves as a hub of information about the new online novel named Undecided Option, a series of live Nier: Orchestra concert dates, new merchandise, and more. The stream ended with a 20-minute musical performance celebrating Nier’s beloved soundtrack.

While Square Enix’s 15th anniversary livestream left many Nier fans wanting more, there seems to be a new rumor about the core creative members of the spinoff series who’ve banded together on a new project. Well-known Japanese games insider Genki pointed to a piece by Famitsu in which series producer Yosuke Saito confirmed that both Nier games’ director Yoko Taro, musical composer Keiichi Okabe, and former PlatinumGames designer Takahisa Taura are working together once again on an unannounced project. While it’s not known for certain whether it’s a new Nier installment, many fans of the franchise suspect that it very well could be.

Original Nier Creatives Working Together on New Game

The IP rights of both Drakengard and Nier belong to Square Enix and, as such, Taro, Okabe, and Taura would have to work with Square as the publisher of a potential new Nier game. The real challenge would be finding a studio to develop the game, as PlatinumGames seems to be busy with its own projects. After departing from Platinum, Taura has just recently founded his own studio named Eel Game Studio. It wouldn’t make sense for Taura to work on an external project as he’s building up his own game studio, so there’s a good chance this new Yoko Taro mystery game could be developed at Eel Game Studio, though this is merely speculation.

If this potential new Nier game is indeed an Eel Game Studio production, it would mean the game is several years away, as the studio is likely still in the throes of hiring talent. Even so, a brief, 30-second CGI teaser wouldn’t be too unusual to see this year. Perhaps in the meantime, Square Enix may finally release a Drakengard remaster trilogy, as all three games are still locked away on PlayStation 2 and 3.