Nier is undoubtedly one of Square Enix’s most iconic video game series, but considering how its last mainline entry was released almost seven years ago, it makes sense for fans to look forward to any sort of news about the IP. The game has also made its way to other platforms, such as mobile devices, with a spin-off that launched three years ago, but even those would work as the community lies in wait for the next proper title.
However, Tencent has seemingly made it clear that it doesn’t want anything to do with the Nier series for some time.
Nier Fans Will Have to Wait a While Longer for the Next Game in the Series
Sources have told Reuters that Tencent has apparently canceled the upcoming Nier mobile game that Square Enix had been working on for a while. There may have been numerous reasons behind this decision, but it seems like the company is now looking for another IP that can be a bigger hit than Nier itself. Square Enix’s franchise has come to a standstill for a while, even though the axed title was being anticipated by fans.
The news comes from three different individuals who were aware of the inside ongoing matters of Tencent and Square Enix, as the former probably believed that a new Nier game would not be as great of a success as it was in the past. This was due to the fact that Tencent was unable “to find a compelling monetisation model given the expensive development costs and franchise rights,” although the Nier mobile title had been in development for almost two years.
Until there are official comments from either company, the future of the series seems to be in danger.
There Could Be Other Reasons Why Tencent Cancelled the Nier Mobile Game
Nier was by no means an unprofitable IP for Square Enix, as it has mostly positive reviews and has sold quite well in the past as well, with Automata selling over 7.5 million copies in around six years. So it seems more of a Tencent issue than a Square Enix one, as the former is not exactly known for absolutely smashing out amazing mobile games.
The company has been trying to make this model a success for nearly ten years now, but turning massive action RPGs into smaller, more compact mobile counterparts can be quite challenging.
The licensing fees for creating mobile games for a huge IP also do not really come cheap, and considering how many deals Tencent has signed, a series like Nier probably does not matter much. Add in the extremely expensive royalty fees, and it just does not seem worth it anymore.
The mobile game had apparently reached its playable internal demo phase.
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