What's going on with NieR: Automata? First there's no Steam release date, then there's mention of a delay, then there's a release date that quickly gets nuked.
Yesterday we - and many other publications - reported that NeiR Producer Yosuke Saito mentioned in an interview that the Steam release date of the long-awaited bullet-hell action game was likely to see a delay.
The thing is, the Steam version never had a solid release date in mind. Though the PlayStation 4 build was almost always scheduled for a March 7 release in North America, any mention of the Steam release was always shrouded in a vague 2017 placeholder. With most imagining it to still release on the PlayStation 4 version's big day, Yoko Taro's mention of a slight delay over port and piracy concerns didn't make much sense.
NieR Automata Is Likely Close To Being Delayed On PC Due To Piracy And Port Concerns
Then, hours later, Square Enix threw a spanner in the works by issuing a brand-new trailer. Spread through their likely massive mailing lists and quickly making the rounds across publications, the trailer made mention of a March 10 PC release - falling in-line with the European launch day of the PlayStation 4 version.
That trailer, however, was quickly pulled and replaced with one that shifted back to the tentative 2017 Steam release date. Did Square Enix jump the gun by releasing a trailer that revealed their initial plans? Most likely. But while some publications quickly updated their stories, PC Gamer are adamant that this release date is gospel while even making note that there's two different dates across the trailers. Who's right? Who's wrong? The big money is on the PC release not hitting until after the PlayStation 4 version after Yoko Taro's announcement. Probability weighs on Square forgetting to scrub that part before publishing the video themselves.
All we know is that it's certainly coming at some point. Port and piracy concerns can only take so long. Square Enix and PlatinumGames just want to do it right. Though they've already managed to mess it up.
