When we saw the “To Be Continued…” message at the end of the emotional video celebrating NieR: Automata’s ten million copies sold, most of us lost our minds thinking Square Enix would finally announce the long-awaited sequel. However, eccentric director Yoko Taro and producer Yosuke Saito recently spoke with Famitsu magazine to bring the community back down to earth, revealing that this mystery has a much simpler and commercial explanation than we initially imagined.

The harsh truth behind the mystery

Saito was completely honest, admitting it was his idea to demand that exact phrase be included at the end of the footage. According to the producer, letting the celebration end on its ninth anniversary felt like an unsatisfactory close for such a massive work, so he felt the absolute need to leave the door open toward its tenth celebration. For his part, true to his usual biting humor, the masked creative joked that the message basically means they haven’t finished and will continue squeezing the franchise for more profits, making it clear there is no official project confirmed in development yet.

Fear of disappointing the public

This revealing interview also brought to light the amusing anecdote of their recent April Fools’ joke. The team admitted they spent hours debating how to write a fake announcement of a new project without players taking it seriously or ending up completely frustrated. In the end, they opted to use made-up kanji that made no logical sense to announce a supposed development, to the point that the director himself admitted with laughter that even today he doesn’t know what the word they ended up posting on their official social media actually means.

Although the possibility of a new major title isn’t completely ruled out for the future, it’s clear that the masterminds behind the franchise simply want to keep their audience engaged until the upcoming tenth anniversary in 2027. Knowing this creative team loves to constantly play with their followers’ minds and emotions, do you think they’re truly preparing a new game in secret, or are they just giving us false hope to keep NieR: Automata sales relevant?