There's no denying that Nier: Automata has been a smash success for Square Enix and PlatinumGames. Aside from continuing to sell incredibly well ever since its 2017 release, it helped raise awareness of the original Nier game and director Yoko Taro's Drakengard series. In fact, its success was likely a major contributing factor to the original even being remastered/remade as Nier Replicant. However, it has unfortunately suffered from a less than optimal Steam release, but that looks to finally be fixed very soon.
Despite releasing not long after the PlayStation 4 version, Nier Automata suffered from all manner of problems on Steam. A locked frame rate, awkward controls, and random crashes are but a few examples. And since Square Enix seemed to have no intentions to address them, players resorted to downloading fan mods to fix the issues.
Earlier this year, Square Enix finally commented on the situation, saying that a patch for the Steam version was in development, but it didn't share any details beyond that. Today, a full list about what the patch actually entails has been posted to Steam, and it's even scheduled to release later this week on Thursday, July 15th at 9am PDT / 6pm CEST.
Aside from a selection of bug fixes, like the mouse controller not being displayed when using a controller, and the frame rate stabilized to run at a consistent 60fps, it will add some entirely new features. Some examples include Borderless Video Settings, Fidelity FX support, and HDR support. If HDR is activated, then the game will automatically be booted in HDR mode. There's even a new Global Illumination feature that can adjust the lighting.
Players will obviously need to wait for the patch to be implemented to see if it does change the game for the better. It's somewhat frustrating that it took over four years for this to happen, but it hopefully means the Steam version will become a viable alternative to the one available via Xbox Game Pass.
This isn't all Nier fans have to look forward to this month. A new entry in the series titled Nier Reincarnation, after already releasing in Japan back in February, is arriving worldwide on July 28th. The series' first mobile entry, Nier Reincarnation is another RPG where players take control of a little girl and explore a mysterious realm called The Cage to unlock the girl's memories. While it is set in the same universe, it shouldn't be treated as a sequel to either of the previous Nier games.
Nier: Automata is available on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Source: Steam