NieR: Automata May Come to Xbox One
By John Jacques 11 November 2016
NieR: Automata producer Yosuke Saito states that an Xbox One release for the game is in the cards, and confirms that the upcoming action RPG will support the PS4 Pro.
Earlier this week, Game Rant got a chance to go hands-on with NieR: Automata, and we took the opportunity to explore a little bit of the world as the YoRHa-type android 2B. The game was originally slated for a 2016 release, but its release date was pushed back in order for Platinum Games to polish off the title. While the series is known more for its tragic storyline than its graphical prowess, NieR: Automata producer Yosuke Saito did confirm that the game would be optimized for the PS4 Pro.
As it turns out, Xbox One players aren’t entirely left out of the party either. Saito has confirmed that the studio is considering bringing the title to the Xbox One platform, although this decision will rest upon how successful the initial launch of the title on both the PC and PS4 platforms will be. The original NieR title released for both PS3 and Xbox 360, so there are likely quite a few Microsoft gamers who would love to see the sequel on their platform, especially since the original NieR hasn’t been added to the Xbox One’s backward compatible library.
On the other side of things, Sony-based gamers wondering if NieR: Automata will be optimized for the PS4 Pro release can rest easy knowing that Platinum Games is working to ensure that the game not only keeps its 60 FPS framerate, but brings 4K graphics (whether upscaled or not) to the system as well:
Yes, it will be optimized for the PS4 Pro. It will keep the 60 FPS while we are trying to optimize it to have 4K quality graphics as well.
NieR: Automata won’t be the only Square Enix title to have PS4 Pro optimization, as Final Fantasy 15 will receive PS4 Pro support as well. While the latter title seems to have some noticeable rendering differences between platforms, both the PC and PS4 versions of NieR: Automata should be the same.
Saito claims that gamers will be able to squeeze about 25 to 30 hours of gameplay out of the title, which has a much improved combat system compared to the original game. While NieR: Automata will likely only upscale to 4K as opposed to running the resolution natively, we’re sure PS4 Pro owners will be happy to hear the 60 FPS guarantee from Saito.
For now, Xbox One gamers will have to wait until the game releases early next year in order to see if NieR: Automata will ever see a release on Microsoft’s console.
NieR: Automata will release for PC and PS4 in Japan on February 23, 2017, but no Western release date has been revealed.
