Responding to a Kotaku piece, Jacob Navok — a former Square Enix director of business — tweeted that the company would like to make more Yoko Taro titles but that the audience size doesn’t justify the costs. That’s notable given how successful Nier Automata became and how much cultural traction its characters have gained.
In a follow-up tweet Navok clarified, “I’m not trolling. Square Enix is in the business of making profitable games. If they thought the game would make money, they would publish it.” He also noted the Kotaku story focused on cancelled projects and wasn’t specifically about the Nier series.
Still, it’s hard to ignore Nier in this conversation: A) Taro referenced the series himself and B) since Automata he hasn’t released many large-scale non‑Nier projects. His post‑Automata output mainly consists of the deck‑building RPG Voice of Cards and the mobile gacha title 404 Game Re:set, both of which appear to have been smaller in scope and likely less costly to produce.
There’s also a wider point: many creators need time to cultivate an audience and refine their craft before their work attracts major investment. A breakthrough title can change industry perceptions and open the door to bigger projects.
Source: gamesradar.com
