New Report is Bad News for Nier Fans

A new mobile game in the Nier franchise has ceased development before being officially announced, according to a recent report. This news follows the reveal that Nier Reincarnation will be shutting down this April.

Although there has been very little news about the future of the Nierseries, franchise creator Yoku Taro has been clear about his intentions to release another mainline entry. Still, the prospect of newer Nier games became even more uncertain when tech giant Tencent invested in developer Platinum Games in 2020. The investment was part of the company's headline-making spending spree, a period of time which saw Tencent plant its flag in a number of major games publishers, including Riot Games, Activision Blizzard, and Epic Games.

According to Reuters, Tencent halted development of a new, unannounced Nier mobile game back in December 2023. Reuters' sources claim that the new Nier game was scrapped due to issues related to establishing a monetization model, along with the high costs associated with licensing rights and general development. The game had reportedly been in development for almost two years. At the time of writing, neither Tencent nor Square Enix, the owner of the Nier IP, has issued a statement.

Tencent's Decision to Axe a New Nier Mobile Game

The alleged shuttering of this Nier mobile game is another sign that Tencent's endeavors in gaming may not be doing so well. Despite Tencent's fast-paced publishing schedule and aggressive expansion, reports emerged last month that many of the company's newer releases did not meet expectations. Reportedly, gaming makes up about 30% of the company's revenue, so a series of flops could spell trouble for the tech giant. Tencent has been particularly bullish in the mobile games market, so the decision to pump the brakes on a mobile title featuring the massively popular Nier franchise may be the start of the company being more conservative in this sector.

It's unlikely that this news is indicative of the health of the Nier franchise as a whole. Nier: Automata is still considered one of the best games from both Square Enix and Platinum Games of the last console generation, and the Nier: Automata anime serves as further evidence of the IP's value. The franchise's foray into mobile gaming may not have paid off in the way that Square Enix or Tencent were envisioning, but console gaming is a different market, and one that will hopefully be the stage for Nier's future success.