Following Koei Tecmo’s announcement on the new release date for Nioh, Square Enix revealed a new trailer for NieR: Automata along with a release date.
According to the trailer below and a post on Twitter, we will be able to play NieR: Automata starting February 23, 2017 on PlayStation 4 and PC.
PlayStation®4向けアクションRPG『NieR:Automata』（ニーア オートマタ）の発売日を2017 年2 月23 日（木）に決定いたしました。 #NieR #ニーア pic.twitter.com/VkncQWCRXN
— NieR公式PRアカウント (@NieR_JPN) September 13, 2016
NieR: Automata was originally revealed at E3 2015 during Square Enix’s press conference, however the real name of the video game was kept secret.
Several months later, at Paris Games Week 2015, Square Enix announced that what it was known as NieR New Project, is in fact NieR: Automata, a video game which takes place after the events from the original NieR.
Initially, Square Enix wanted to release NieR: Automata in November 2016, but it was delayed due to its commercial performance against other titles, such as Final Fantasy XV, Watch Dogs 2 and Dishonored 2.
The delay will allow Square Enix to promote the game properly, while Platinum Games will have enough time to improve the quality of their latest project.
In an interview for novacrystallis.com, Yosuke Saito, the producer of the NieR series confirmed that NieR: Automata will be an open world game.
“It’s one large region, a real open world. There may be hub-like areas in the game but it is one large world you can discover. While we use the debug tool right now to change levels, there will be a seamless experience in the final game with regions all connected with each other.”
According to the same source, PlatinumGames designed a unique engine for NieR: Automata, in order to re-create the lighting effects which were very important in the previous game.
While the original NieR had two versions (Japanese and Western), NieR: Automata will be released in a single version for all territories, although developers are working to include the Japanese voices in the Western release.
Even if the trailer below shows the release date for NieR: Automata, it is unknown for now if the date is for Japan or for all territories.
