A game listed as needing 50 GB of storage should not suddenly ask for more than 366 GB. Yet that was the confusing situation facing some NieR Automata players on Steam after a recent language update. Fortunately, Square Enix has now confirmed that the installation problem is fixed, bringing an end to an issue that made downloading the acclaimed action RPG unnecessarily difficult.
The correction arrived on November 9, 2026, just days after the update introduced support for three additional languages. Although the problem has been resolved, it highlights an important distinction for PC players: a storage requirement displayed by Steam does not always reflect how much space a game actually needs.
NieR Automata no longer asks for an enormous amount of storage on Steam
Square Enix confirmed the resolution in its official November 9 Bug Fix Notice. According to the publisher, the problem introduced by the November 6 update, Japan time, had been corrected. The official NieR account also acknowledged that the cause had been identified and apologized for the inconvenience.
Before the fix, players reported seeing installation requirements exceeding 366 GB. That figure was particularly alarming because the game’s official Steam specifications list just 50 GB of available storage. In other words, the reported requirement was more than seven times the normal amount.
Importantly, this was an incorrect installation storage requirement, not an announced expansion of the game’s content or a permanent change to its minimum specifications. Square Enix has not publicly detailed the technical cause, so there is no confirmed explanation for why Steam displayed such an unusually large figure.
The distinction matters because storage-related problems can take very different forms. For example, Battle4play recently covered an AMD Radeon driver issue involving unexpected SSD writes. That situation concerns background disk activity, whereas the NieR Automata incident involved the space requested during installation. Both can worry PC owners, but they should not be confused.
When the problem first appeared, we explained how to avoid the extra NieR Automata storage requirement on Steam using Square Enix’s temporary workaround. With the bug now fixed, that step is no longer needed.
The NieR Automata storage bug followed a language update in November
The timing explains why the incident attracted attention. Square Enix was expanding language accessibility for an established PC release, rather than introducing a major new gameplay feature. Nevertheless, the update unexpectedly created an obstacle for people trying to install the game.
Here is how the situation developed, from the original announcement to the confirmed repair.
- November 5, 2026: The official Steam page announced an upcoming update adding Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Korean language support.
- November 6, 2026 (Japan time): The language update was released. Afterward, players encountered unexpectedly large installation storage requirements, with reports exceeding 366 GB.
- November 6, 2026: Square Enix acknowledged that the installation required significantly more space than intended. The publisher apologized, began investigating and provided a temporary workaround.
- November 9, 2026: Square Enix published its Bug Fix Notice confirming that the problem had been fixed. The official NieR account also stated that the cause had been identified and the issue resolved.
What makes this sequence unusual is the nature of the update itself. Adding three supported languages is a meaningful accessibility improvement, especially for players who prefer experiencing a story-heavy RPG in a familiar language. However, the resulting storage issue briefly overshadowed that benefit.
There is also an important limit to what can be concluded. The official notices establish when the problem appeared and when it was resolved. They do not explain the underlying technical mechanism or establish how many players were affected.
Players should know the normal install size and the temporary DLC workaround
With the correction confirmed, the most useful information is straightforward. Anyone who encountered the oversized installation prompt can distinguish between the game’s published requirements, the temporary workaround and the current official status.
- Normal storage requirement: The Steam store lists 50 GB of available space for NieR Automata. This remains the official reference figure.
- Incorrect storage prompt: During the incident, players reported that Steam requested more than 366 GB to install the game.
- What the update added: Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Korean language support.
- Temporary workaround: Square Enix recommended opening the game’s Steam Properties, selecting DLC and unchecking each DLC item. This allowed players to download the base game using the intended amount of storage.
- Available DLC entries: The Steam store lists eight downloadable content items for the game.
- Current status: Square Enix confirmed on November 9 that the excessive storage requirement had been fixed. The DLC workaround was a temporary measure, not a newly required installation procedure.
That last point is particularly important. Players should not mistake the earlier DLC instructions for a permanent requirement. They were provided while Square Enix investigated the issue, and the publisher has since announced its resolution.
Similarly, the 366 GB figure should not be treated as the game’s actual download size. It describes the unusually high storage requirement reported during the bug, not the normal amount of content players are expected to install.
The incident shows why PC installation requirements deserve closer attention
NieR Automata originally launched on Steam on March 17, 2017. Created by Yoko Taro and developed with PlatinumGames, Square Enix’s action RPG has remained available on PC for nearly a decade. Consequently, an unexpected installation problem in 2026 is a reminder that even long-established releases can encounter difficulties when their software is updated.
There is a broader storage-management lesson here. Players increasingly pay attention not only to how much space a game occupies, but also to whether its different components can be installed separately. That discussion is also visible in the GTA 6 Online clues found in the game’s PS5 files, although those findings concern a different game and remain separate from Square Enix’s confirmed bug.
In this case, the temporary DLC solution demonstrated how managing optional content could help players access the base game while an installation issue remained unresolved. However, it does not prove that the DLC itself caused the problem. Square Enix has not provided enough technical information to establish that connection.
Ultimately, the important outcome is that NieR Automata’s Steam storage bug has been fixed, and its official 50 GB requirement remains the relevant figure. The November language update can now be discussed for what it was intended to deliver: broader language support for a celebrated RPG. Still, the incident raises a familiar question for PC gaming. How much confidence should players place in an installation prompt when a routine update can temporarily make a 50 GB game appear to need more than 366 GB?
Creator of the website, Pokemon trainer by nature. Trying to report on everything related to the world of video games, series and movies. Yu-Gi-Oh is my weakness, collecting cards since the dawn of time.
