Nier’s not exactly the first name that springs to mind when we think of iconic PC gaming, particularly since the original was a console exclusive. However, PlatinumGames’ Yoko Taro has revealed that sequel-of-sorts Nier Automata was originally only planned to be released on our beloved beige boxes.

“There were no special arrangements made for either platform (PS4 and PC), but since most of the development process is done on the PC anyway, we ran with it. Actually, we had planned to release the game only for PC,” says Taro in an interview with WOWJapan.

“However, following input from the publishers the decision was made for the game to be released on the PlayStation 4 as well. The game was created on PlatinumGames’ Engine, which was geared towards the PC. So ultimately the platform choice had no bearing on the way the game was designed.”

As we understand it, Nier Automata was developed for PC, before Square Enix stepped in and made sure the PS4 version happened. It’s quite an insight that Platinum’s game engine is built for PC first and foremost, particularly when taking into consideration the widespread performance issues on PC and the astonishing lack of a post-launch support. Just as a little reminder, in case you forgot - Nier Automata has not received a single PC patch since its February launch. That’s despite stuttering problems, lack of Vsync support, low frame rates, and a resolution upscaling bug that caused blurry image quality.

Fortunately, modder ‘Kaldaien’ took it upon himself to fix these issues, but we’re still waiting on anything official from Platinum after they said “We wanted to let you know that we appreciate all your feedback and are investigating the issues that have been reported. Please stay tuned for updates.” That was some, er, 225 days ago. Good job.

While the lack of post-launch support for Nier Automata, aside from DLC, has been immensely disappointing, it is at least encouraging to see Japan-centric developers like Platinum take the PC platform seriously from the get-go, rather than an afterthought. We can’t help but feel the lack of updates may be down to Square Enix’s involvement more than anything else. Regardless, Nier Automata ended up a magnificent game, as Jon would attest in his review, provided you can look past a few nagging issues.