Nier creator Yoko Taro reveals the sad reality of modern AAA game development, “there’s less weird people making games”

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Yoko Taro is known for being unconventional; some might even describe him as eccentric. The 55-year-old Japanese game developer, renowned for creating Drakengard and Nier series, often sports a Moon-Faced helmet reminiscent of his character Emil and can be seen rolling on the floor in fits of laughter, exclaiming phrases like “sh*t, Square Enix”. And we admire him for it.

Yoko Taro is known for his unique style, which has resulted in some of my top-favorite games: NieR and NieR: Automata. There’s a blend of brilliance and darkness in their unusual nature. But why aren’t there more games like this? In the words of the passionate 55-year-old himself, it’s due to the lack of individuals who are as unconventional creating major releases today.

Yoko Taro on bland game releases

During a recent interaction with fans, Taro was inquired about the peculiarities between contemporary game developers and the era when Drakengard was initially imagined.

Although Drakengard generally follows a typical game structure, its unusual true ending connects to the start of NieR in an unexpected manner. This finale features Caim and his dragon colliding with contemporary Tokyo, where they engage in a battle against a massive stone woman without clothing. Admittedly, it’s quite peculiar, but it seamlessly transitions into NieR.

The game director mused that, despite being involved in the gaming industry for three decades, there seems to be fewer “unconventional individuals” these days. He questioned whether this shift is merely a matter of perspective within his field, a transformation of the gaming industry itself, or if the world as a whole has changed in this way.

Sure, there are still eccentric individuals creating games within the AAA realm, but mainly it’s Hideo Kojima. However, in the past, the gaming industry was teeming with AA and even AAA games crafted by quirky creators who had the freedom to showcase their individuality. Games like Banjo-Kazooie or Conker’s Bad Fur Day are prime examples of this. It’s clear that the minds behind these titles were definitely unconventional.

Yet, it seems the creators of eccentric video games haven’t vanished; instead, they lack triple-A funding. These independent (indie) game developers continue to produce peculiar titles such as Undertale, Deltarune, Doki Doki Literature Club, Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy, Disco Elysium, Frog Fractions, and many more that challenge the norm in gaming.

Occasionally, some really unusual things gain massive popularity, but it’s uncommon for big-budget studios like AAA to venture into creating such peculiar content due to high production costs. However, Sega, in their unique way, doesn’t shy away from such risks, as evident by them developing a pirate spin-off game within the Yakuza series. They certainly march to the beat of a different drummer!

It’s possible that the lack of an official sequel to NieR Automata since its release nearly a decade ago is due to Square Enix being hesitant to invest a large sum of money into Yoko Taro’s unpredictable creative vision, despite the success of his previous work. Alternatively, they may have been working on something secretly for years, which we can only hope will be revealed soon.

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2025-06-19 13:40