Come July 15, NieR: Automata users on Steam will finally gain access to an update that addresses myriad performance issues and adds 60fps cutscenes. NieR: Automata's original Steam launch in 2017 boasted a wide array of problems, which ranged ran the gamut from frame rate hitches and crashes to poor mouse and keyboard support and lackluster ultrawide options.
Players raised a furor about the troubled PC release for a good long while, but the anger eventually died down as the sea of complaints largely went ignored. The fury of Steam users rose once again in March 2021, however, after news of an Xbox Game Pass version hit the airwaves. Notably, this particular iteration of NieR: Automata constituted a port of the Become as Gods Edition, a QLOC-developed version that packed in HDR, FidelityFX options, and a UI with textures upscaled to 4K resolution. Simply put, Game Pass' "free" NieR: Automata offer boasted improvements that Steam users spent years asking for, culminating in players review bombing the game's Steam page. Within weeks, developer PlatinumGames issued a statement promising to release a NieR: Automata patch on Steam.
PlatinumGames has released a Steam notice (via Gematsu) about the upcoming patch, informing users of the update's July 15 due date. Steam users can expect to see a whole host of changes implemented, including bit rate improvements that will allow cutscenes to run at 60fps "and display in the correct aspect ratio without stretching the picture." 4K UI textures, HDR enhancements, borderless video settings, global illumination, and adjustments to anti-aliasing count as other features coming to NieR: Automata's imminent Steam patch. Meanwhile, bug fixes will tackle frame rate stability and get rid of the mouse cursor when a controller's in use.
These changes should go a long way in vastly improving NieR: Automata's overall quality on Steam. Of course, that much won't be clear until players actually get their hands on the updated version. Fans will likely return to the game's Steam page to express their grievances in more review bombs should the patch fail to meet expectations.
Considered somewhat of a sleeper hit in 2017, NieR: Automata has grown into a cultural phenomenon, one that sparked interest in the franchise's first entry, 2010's Nier. As a result, Square Enix recently published Nier: Replicant, a remake that's already hit one million copies sold.
NieR: Automata is available now on PC via Steam, PS4, and Xbox One platforms.
