NieR: Automata is Getting a Tie-In Novel Next Year

Tomas Franzese November 18, 2019 10:26 AM EST

Square Enix's critically acclaimed NieR: Automata is getting an tie-in novel, NieR Automata: YoRHa Boys, in Fall 2020.

Today, Square Enix revealed that one of DualShockers’ favorite PS4 games, NieR: Automata, will be getting a tie-in novel in Fall 2020. The novel is being released under the game publisher’s new “Square Enix Manga & Book” imprint and it will be titled NieR Automata: YoRHa Boys.

The novel’s author is Jun Eishima, who has previously worked on several Final Fantasy novellas. For those of you worried about the game’s vision not being captured properly, Square Enix did confirm that the auteur behind the NieR series, Yoko Taro, is supervising YoRHa Boys’ creation. The novelization will also include art from Square Enix’s Toshiyuki Itahana, who you may know as a Character Designer for Final Fantasy IX or as the Director of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers.

NieR Automata: YoRHa Boys technically serves as a prequel to the critically acclaimed game. Square Enix teased that the novel’s story “focuses on the story of YoRHa Experimental Unit M, a squadron composed of YoRHa male type models established for the purpose of collecting a full range of behavioral data.” Considering that NieR: Automata’s narrative structure may have been a bit too complicated to capture properly in a novel, going the prequel route is probably a good idea.

When one considers that NieR: Automata has found massive success and that Square Enix Manga & Books is releasing an official tie-in novel, it becomes clear that NieR is a very important series to Square Enix right now. Hopefully, this means we haven’t seen the end of it in the gaming medium. NieR Automata: YoRHa Boys will be coming out sometime during Fall 2020. If you haven’t played this excellent game yet, NieR: Automata is available for PC, PS4, and Xbox One on Amazon.

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