NieR franchise creator Yoko Taro has revealed that his primary motivation for continuing to work in game development is a fear of developing dementia. In a recent interview with Denfaminicogamer, Taro expressed that he is "done with working" and "don’t want to do it anymore."
Taro stated that he had already achieved his life's goal with his directorial debut, 2003's Drakengard. He feels that this game represented his best work at the time and fulfilled his dream of releasing a personal creation into the world. Everything he has worked on since, he considers to be the "remainder of my life," and continued working primarily due to the necessity of income.
He has considered retiring, believing his savings and pension would be sufficient. However, he has become concerned about the potential for dementia in old age. Citing instances of people being diagnosed with the disorder after retirement, Taro uses this fear as a way to push through difficult work situations, telling himself that the challenges are "good for preventing dementia."
These statements were made during a talk session at the Tokyo French Institute, though Taro is known for his eccentric and often deadpan remarks delivered from behind his signature Emil mask, suggesting his comments should be taken with a degree of skepticism.
Regarding the future of Japan's game industry, Taro, who is 56, quipped that he would "die soon, so I really don’t care what happens to Japan’s game industry." He noted that current technologies like AI have created an environment where younger creators can develop games more freely than in his early career, when the primary options were to join a large company or make niche PC titles. While this expanded opportunity has led to broader creative possibilities, Taro believes it has also intensified competition. He expressed trepidation that this increased competition might eventually impact older developers before his own eventual passing.
Taro also discussed his creative process, stating that he does not typically feel jealous of other games. Instead, he approaches them from a fan's perspective, which activates his collector's instinct to acquire them. He described his career as being focused on "filling in the gaps" in the market, citing perfect games like ICO and Ikaruga as examples of genres he felt no need to replicate because they were already well-covered. He suggested that the perceived crudeness of his own games stems from the fact that the "beautiful aspects" of game design have already been claimed by earlier pioneers.
Since 2021's NieR Reincarnation and the Nier Replicant remaster, Taro has worked on the Voice of Cards series and the 2024 mobile title 404 GAME RE:SET. He is also writing an upcoming untitled Neon Genesis Evangelion TV series, with music by NieR and Drakengard composer Keiichi Okabe.
Fans have expressed a desire for a new NieR title, but none has been officially announced. In late 2023, Taro mentioned that several projects he was involved in had been canceled midway through development. He clarified that while he was compensated for this work, its lack of release led to the perception that he was inactive, despite his continued involvement in ongoing projects.