With a decade and a half under its belt, the Nier franchise is just as popular as ever, and to celebrate its milestone anniversary, developer Square Enix is treating us to a special livestream that’s only serving to stoke the flames of the rumor fires. The anniversary broadcast will feature a mini-performance – although of what and who, we don’t yet know – as well as a hands-on talk with the creator of Nier, Yoko Taro, plus a number of other developers who have worked on the franchise.
In an X post on the official Nier profile, an image from Nier Reincarnation was used to promote the celebration. This might be nothing, we may just get some fond reminiscing of the now-unavailable mobile game, or maybe we’ll get some new information on a potential evolution – or reincarnation, see what we did there? – regarding its future. We might also get some news on the Nier: Automata sequel, considering rumors have been rife in the past few years, and we’d love to see 2B and the rest of the Nier: Automata characters back again.
We’re also due to get updates on upcoming merchandise, future events, and hopefully much more in the livestream, which will be available to watch on YouTube on April 19, 2025, at 6pm JST / 4am ET. The stream is due to run for a tasty two and a half hours, and we’ll get to hear from voice actor Hiroki Yasumoto, who portrayed Grimoire Weiss and Pod 042, as well as producer Yosuke Saito and composer Keiichi Okabe.
The 15th-anniversary broadcast may just be a way for the developers to reconnect with their dedicated playerbase and revel in the nostalgia that such a popular franchise brings. But it’s not outside the realm of possibility for a new game to at least be teased. Despite the rumor mill churning as fast as ever, there hasn’t been anything concrete about a sequel or new title in the Nier franchise, and we know it might be wishful thinking, but think wishfully we will.
We’ll have to wait and see what Square Enix has got lined up for us, but if you’re heading back to Nier: Automata in the meantime, we’ve got a full Nier Automata 2B guide, plus everything you need to know about Nier Automata anime season two. You can also take your pick from the best action games on Switch, and the best RPGs.