According to 4Gamer, the producer of "NieR: Automata" Yoko Taro personally clarified the joke circulating in the fan circle that "he has not participated in game production in recent years."He made it clear that he was indeed involved in several projects, but for various reasons that he cannot elaborate on, none of them ever saw the light of day.

"People often ask me, 'Why don't I develop a new NieR game?' or question, 'Yoko Taro has nothing to do all day long.' In fact, the reason is that most of the projects I have participated in recently were stopped midway through development. I have indeed been working, but the results have not been released in the end. Since I have received corresponding compensation, I personally have no dissatisfaction with this. But it seems that just because the work has not been released, everyone assumes that I have done nothing."

Even a well-known developer like Yoko Taro may not release a new game for several years because the project fails to be launched.In addition, undisclosed projects are subject to confidentiality agreements and layers of administrative barriers, making it seem to the outside world that he has been wasting his time for a whole decade.

He further emphasized that he was not frustrated that there had been no new works for many years, but instead hinted that he would rather have no works than be perfunctory."I don't think it's a bad thing," he went on to explain, "rather than posting something weird, it's better to stay silent."

It is worth noting that in recent years, there have been repeated reports mentioning Yoko Taro’s ongoing projects.Perhaps some of these projects are the canceled works he mentioned.In any case, Yoko Taro is obviously very concerned about the public's misunderstanding of his "long-term sabotage" and feels it is necessary to explain the reasons for the recent blank work.