NieR director Yoko Taro has apparently begun teasing a third game in the franchise.
After making a surprise appearance at a Valentine’s Day NieR: Orchestra Concert at London’s Royal Festival Hall, Taro reportedly asked the crowd to applaud as loudly as they could so Square Enix boss Takashi Kiryu [who was also in the crowd] would know there is an appetite for a follow-up to 2017’s NieR Automata [via Reddit]. “The room immediately erupted into claps, cheers and yells,” said one fan.
Elsewhere during the concert, the word “REPENT” was displayed several times during the performance, before it shifted to say “R3PENT”, which seems like a not-so-subtle tease that a third NieR game may be on the way. Fans from around the world have confirmed a similar message at their shows.
The original NieR was released in 2010, with a remaster following in 2021.
Last year, NieR series producer Yosuke Saito confirmed he was working on a new project alongside Taro that wasn’t linked to the world of NieR. Further details are due in the next few months. Offering a glimmer of hope, Saito added that he’d work on future NieR titles as long as Taro was alive.
“I’m preparing various things to be able to carry out the ‘surprise’ mentioned in the keyword in early 2024,” Taro told 4Gamer.
As part of their 2021 Christmas message, Taro jokingly confirmed that the NeiR franchise was over but he’d make another game for “a big ‘ole pile of money.”
Earlier this month, Square Enix confirmed a mobile spin-off of NieR being developed by Tencent was being scrapped after two years of development. Another mobile spin-off, NieR: Reincarnation, is set to close down on April 29 after being launched in 2021 following the success of Automata.
In other news, a fan-led project has carefully recreated the record-breaking first trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6 in Minecraft – check it out here.