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Nier Automata’s infamously quirky creator Yoko Taro has been an enigma for years, and now the legendary RPG veteran is getting an entire book filled with interviews that are sure to be unmissable

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Nier: Automata

“My producer will get really mad if he hears this”: Nier creator Yoko Taro says “how slow I am” defines his writing style, but he’s “sneaky” enough to get away with the consequences

Catherine Lewis

19 September 2025

“I’m good at creating situations where my writing is essential, but I’m just late at it”

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(Image credit: Square Enix)

Nier creator Yoko Taro says he’s actually a slow writer, but he’s “sneaky” enough to get away with the usual consequences by “creating situations where my writing is essential” – a tactic he admits his “producer will get really mad” about if he finds out…Let’s hope his producer isn’t reading this.

In a new interview with Archipel on YouTube (below), Yoko – who served as director on Nier Replicant, Automata, and Drakengard – says “how slow I am” is the thing that “would define my writing style the most.” However, he quickly adds, “I have a trick for that, though.”
The legendary director is clearly aware that a slower writing speed could be detrimental to him, as he explains: “If you’re simply slow, then you don’t get new writing opportunities or you get sided out of projects.” That’s not how he approaches things, however.

You may like

Nier Automata’s infamously quirky creator Yoko Taro has been an enigma for years, and now the legendary RPG veteran is getting an entire book filled with interviews that are sure to be unmissable

“FromSoftware was my very first job after graduating”: Legendary Bloodborne and Elden Ring composer says she’d watch the games in debug mode “partly because I couldn’t beat the boss myself”

“We must change our methods”: Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai says game development has become “too time consuming and unsustainable”

A look at Yoko Taro’s writing process – Interview – YouTube

“I’m sneaky in the way that I’m good at creating situations where my writing is essential, but I’m just late at it. I usually start off by showing quick progress, then I gradually get slower and slower,” he admits. “Admittedly, it’s a bit unfair, but this is my method. I used the time I gain that way to polish my writing. My producer will get really mad if he hears this…”

Unfortunately for Yoko, it does seem pretty likely that his producer is going to find out now that he’s proclaimed it in a YouTube video. But hey, no one can argue with his results, so perhaps he’ll be able to continue at his usual pace regardless.
Nier Automata’s infamously quirky creator Yoko Taro has been an enigma for years, and now the legendary RPG veteran is getting an entire book filled with interviews that are sure to be unmissable.

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Deputy News Editor

I’m GamesRadar+’s Deputy News Editor, working alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield’s student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming’s news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you’re sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.

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Nier Automata’s infamously quirky creator Yoko Taro has been an enigma for years, and now the legendary RPG veteran is getting an entire book filled with interviews that are sure to be unmissable

“FromSoftware was my very first job after graduating”: Legendary Bloodborne and Elden Ring composer says she’d watch the games in debug mode “partly because I couldn’t beat the boss myself”

“We must change our methods”: Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai says game development has become “too time consuming and unsustainable”

Devil May Cry creator Hideki Kamiya says Microsoft-canceled action RPG Scalebound would have gone differently under a Japanese publisher: “They understand the struggle of trying to give birth to something new”

Hideo Kojima says he makes games because an HR person told him to be creative after he decided job-hunting is “a place where lies meet lies”: “I was a Showa era detective trying to solve a murder case”

Former Devil May Cry and Dragon’s Dogma 2 director says he can’t make “the kind of games I’d most like to” as “they’d be too out there” and “probably wouldn’t sell”

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