NieR: Automata Language Patch Accidentally Turns the Game Into a 366GB Download on PC
NieR: Automata is a 50GB game. At least, it was. A routine language patch on Steam has turned the PC version into a 366GB download, and players with full drives are paying the price. Square Enix has confirmed the problem and says a fix is on the way, but until it arrives there is a workaround that lets you install the base game only.
What happened to NieR: Automata on PC
On November 5, 2026, Square Enix released a patch for the Steam version of NieR: Automata. The update added support for three more languages: Korean, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese. On paper, it was a small quality of life update for players in those regions.
Instead, the patch ballooned the install size from around 50GB to 366GB. IGN reports that a bug caused the entire game to be applied to every DLC pack included in the PC edition, stacking the same files again and again until the install reached the size of the biggest games on the platform. To make things worse, the Steam store page still lists a 50GB storage requirement, so nothing warned players before they hit download.
| Detail | What we know |
|---|---|
| Patch date | November 5, 2026, on Steam |
| What the patch added | Korean, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese language support |
| Install size before | About 50GB |
| Install size after | 366GB |
| Fix status | Square Enix investigating, fix in progress, no date given |
| Workaround | Uncheck the DLC in Steam properties to install the base game only |
How Big Is 366GB, Really
Raw numbers do not always land, so here is the scale. The bloated install is more than seven times the 50GB size the store page promises. On a 500GB drive, which is still common in older gaming laptops and budget builds, 366GB eats almost three quarters of the entire drive. On a 1TB drive it takes more than a third, before Windows, other games, or anything else gets a look in.
It is also bigger than most full games. Modern AAA titles are heavy, but very few cross 200GB even with all their updates installed. NieR: Automata, a 2017 action RPG with modest system requirements, is suddenly demanding more space than games built for hardware three generations newer. That is why players reacted so fast. This was not a slow download or a minor inconvenience. For anyone with a nearly full SSD, the patch made the game unplayable and threatened the rest of their library too.
Players noticed fast, and Steam reviews turned sour
The reaction was immediate. The game picked up a wave of negative reviews on Steam from players who suddenly could not play, or who watched the update eat the free space they needed for other games. Some players said they had to remove the game from their PCs entirely until the problem is fixed. Others pointed out the gap between the 50GB requirement on the store page and the 366GB the installer actually wanted.
It is a frustrating spot for a game that has earned a loyal audience since launch. PlatinumGames released NieR: Automata in February 2017, and it remains one of the most loved action RPGs on PC nearly a decade later. A patch meant to welcome more players ended up locking some of them out instead.
Why a Language Patch Can Balloon Like This
A language patch sounds tiny. New text files, some voice lines, a few fonts. So how does that turn into 300GB of extra data? The answer is in how Steam handles DLC. The PC edition of NieR: Automata ships with several DLC packs, and Steam treats each pack as its own set of files. IGN reports that the bug applied the entire game to every one of those packs, so the same files were stacked again and again instead of being shared.
Think of it like photocopying a book for every chapter tab instead of once for the whole book. The content is the same, but the copies pile up. That is why the number is so extreme. The patch did not add 316GB of new content. It duplicated what was already there, several times over, across the DLC packs. The store page still says 50GB because that figure was set long before the bug, and nobody updated it when the patch went wrong.
It is a known shape of failure in game patching. A small change to how files are packaged can multiply install sizes overnight, and the mistake only shows up when real players hit download. Square Enix has not yet said exactly what went wrong in its own pipeline, only that the team is investigating.
Square Enix response and the temporary workaround
Square Enix has confirmed the issue in a post on X, apologized for the inconvenience, and said the team is investigating the cause and working on a solution. No date for the fix has been given yet.
Until the fixed patch ships, the company suggests downloading only the base game. Here is how:
- Open Steam and right-click NieR: Automata in your library.
- Select Properties, then open the DLC tab.
- Uncheck the DLC packs.
- Download the base game on its own.
That gets you playing without the 366GB install, though you will miss the DLC content until the corrected patch lands. Patches can cause trouble in other games too, as the Phantom Blade Zero first patch showed when it arrived with its own round of performance fixes.
NieR: Automata on PC Has Been Here Before
This is not the first time the PC version has needed rescuing. When NieR: Automata launched on PC in March 2017, players quickly found the port rough around the edges, with resolution and frame rate problems that the official patches were slow to fix. The community stepped in. A fan-made fix known as the FAR mod, short for Fix Automata Resolution, became the standard way to play the game properly on PC, and it stayed essential for years.
Things improved with time. The Game of the YoRHa Edition in 2019 bundled the DLC and smoothed out the package, and the game went on to sell millions and earn its place as one of the most loved action RPGs of its generation. That history is why the reaction to this patch stings a little more. Players who stuck with the game through its rough launch expected better from a routine language update nine years later. The good news is that Square Enix responded fast this time, and the workaround works while the fix is built.
What this means for PC players
- Check your free SSD space before you update or reinstall NieR: Automata. 366GB is more than seven times the size the store page promises.
- If you already updated, use the DLC workaround above instead of deleting the whole game and starting over.
- Hold off on a full reinstall until Square Enix ships the fix. A fresh install right now would pull the same bloated files.
- If the update left your install in a strange state, our guide on games keep crashing on PC covers the basic checks that sort out most post-patch problems.
PC patches are supposed to make games better, and most do. The recent Hogwarts Legacy DLSS 5 update added new graphics tech without any storage drama, which is how these updates should go. This one is a reminder that even a small patch can go wrong in a big way.
How to Stop the Next Bad Patch Eating Your Drive
You cannot stop a developer shipping a broken patch, but you can stop Steam installing it before you know about it. Open any game in your Steam library, go to Properties, then Updates, and set automatic updates to only run when you launch the game. That way a patch waits until you choose to play, and you can check the news first.
A few more habits help. Read the patch notes before you update a game you care about, especially for older titles that rarely get touched. Keep a buffer of free space on your game drive, so one surprise download cannot fill it. And if a patch looks wrong, check the game’s Steam news hub or the developer’s official account before you reinstall anything. A fresh install pulls the same broken files, while waiting usually costs you nothing.
The bottom line
A language patch should never cost you more than 300GB of SSD space. Square Enix has owned the mistake, offered a workaround, and promised a fix. The real test now is how fast that fix ships, and whether the next patch restores the game to the 50GB install players expect. Until then, uncheck the DLC, keep your SSD space, and wait for the all clear. Eurogamer and GameSpot also covered the bloated update.
