Nier: Automata 366GB update: what broke and the fix
Smart summary
A November 2026 Steam update for Nier: Automata, adding Chinese and Korean text, made Steam ask some players for about 366GB of free space instead of roughly 50GB. Square Enix says it is investigating, and its workaround is to untick the DLC in Steam so only the base game installs.
The update itself was small. Reports put the actual download at about 107.7MB, and all it added was Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Korean language options to a game that came out in 2017.
Then Steam asked for 366GB. That’s more than the 212GB Rockstar has confirmed for GTA 6, the biggest launch of the year, for a nine-year-old game that sits at about 50GB. One player quoted by Kotaku summed it up: they’d need to delete 90% of their computer to install it.
Label: news explainer. The bug and the workaround are Documented from Square Enix and press reports; the cause is still unconfirmed.
Why does Nier: Automata need 366GB on Steam?
It doesn’t, really. After the update went out around November 5 and 6, 2026, Steam started showing an install requirement of about 366GB for some players, up from about 50GB. Outlets including VGC, GamesRadar and RPG Site reported it within a day.
The most common explanation is that Steam is counting the full game’s size again for each DLC entry. That fits the numbers, but Square Enix hasn’t confirmed it, so treat it as a likely theory, not the answer.
RPG Site found that Steam really did block the install without that space free. So it isn’t just a wrong label on a store page. For a player with a 512GB drive, it is a real wall.
How do you fix the Nier: Automata 366GB bug?
Square Enix’s Nier account on X said the team is investigating the cause and working on a solution. Until then, its recommended workaround is simple:
- Open Properties: right-click Nier: Automata in your Steam library and choose Properties.
- Untick the DLC: in the DLC tab, uncheck the DLC so only the base game installs.
- Install, then re-enable: once the base game is in, turn the DLC back on. Reports say the game and DLC together end up around 40 to 50GB on the drive.
- Not installed yet? Several outlets suggest pausing Steam auto-updates for the game until a fix is out.
There’s no date for a permanent patch as of November 7, 2026, and some players say the inflated figure has already disappeared for them. Check the game’s Steam news page before you start deleting things.
Why is a 2017 game still getting updates in 2026?
Because people keep buying it. Square Enix said in February 2026 that Nier: Automata had passed 10 million copies shipped and sold digitally, up from 9 million in December 2024. Adding Chinese and Korean text is a bet that more new players are still coming.
That’s what makes this bug so on brand. The PC version spent four years waiting for a fix until a 2021 patch, and players learned to be patient with it. This time the slip-up came from trying to welcome more people in.
The fair counterpoint: a language update that breaks installs is still a quality-control miss. Even if it’s Steam’s maths, Square Enix shipped it without catching what players saw within hours.
Pylcrow’s take: the number lied, the problem didn’t
A 107MB update made a 50GB game look bigger than GTA 6. The 366GB was never the real size of Nier: Automata, but it still stopped people from playing, and that makes it a real bug. For a game about machines trying to understand people, it’s a very fitting glitch.
Verdict: the 366GB prompt and Square Enix’s workaround are Documented. The DLC double-counting cause is Claimed. When the permanent fix arrives is Unresolved.
Quick answers
Does the 366GB bug affect PS4, Xbox or Switch?
No reports say so. The November 2026 update and the inflated size prompt were reported on the Steam version for PC.
Will I lose my Nier: Automata save if I reinstall?
Not normally, if Steam Cloud saves are on for the game. Back up your save folder first anyway, because a reinstall is the one time a cloud sync problem would hurt.
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Sources: VGC; GamesRadar; RPG Site; Automaton and Gamereactor (Square Enix statement and workaround); Kotaku; Gematsu (10 million sales). Status as of November 7, 2026.
