Nier: Automata anime gets release date

The upcoming animated series adaptation of Nier: Automata has gotten a new trailer, revealing a release date that’s very soon

Earlier this year, it was announced that the popular action game Nier: Automata would be getting an anime adaptation, and now it’s finally got a release date, alongside a brand new trailer.

Nier: Automata Ver 1.1a, as the anime adaptation is called, is being produced by A-1 Pictures, the animation studio that worked on anime like Sword Art Online, as well as other video game anime adaptations like Ace Attorney and Persona 4 Golden.

The animated series will largely follow the story of the game, Nier: Automata, but is said to make some changes to suit the episodic format. The screenplay is being co-written by Nier: Automata director Yoko Taro, but it’s not currently known how many episodes the series will span.

A new Japanese trailer for the series was released today, showing off fan-favourite characters like 2B and 9S, the dual protagonists of the game. It also showed off some of the action-oriented combat scenes, and is generally looking pretty slick and exciting.

The trailer ended with a release date, showing that the series will be airing starting on January 8 in Japan. The English release will be through anime streaming service Crunchyroll, and will be available on the same day.

Nier: Automata is an action RPG made by PlatinumGames and published by Square Enix. First released in 2017, the game was lauded by critics and fans for its ambitious blending of genres, fascinating storytelling, and incredible soundtrack.

Nier Automata Ver 1.1a will include a host of characters from the video games. Picture: Aniplex

The game received a port to the Nintendo Switch in October, and across all platforms sold over 7 million copies. The game was so wildly popular that Platinum decided to remaster the first game in the series, Nier Replicant, in 2021, which was similarly well-received.

Fans went wild for a secret discovered in Nier: Automata in July, after footage appeared online of what seemed to be an entirely new, previously undiscovered area in the game. It wasn’t all it seemed however, because despite modders suggesting that mods for the game weren’t possible at that scale, it turned out to be the work of a small team of modders who kept the project under wraps until it was done.

It’s not the only recent example of fans stepping in to make more content for games, though unfortunately it doesn’t always end well. A Resident Evil Code: Veronica remake was “cancelled by Capcom” according to the developers of the project, who say the company shut it down over trademark infringement.

Written by Oliver Brandt on behalf of GLHF.