Nier: Automata jumps from 50 GB to 366 GB on Steam because of a bug in its latest update

Nier: Automata, one of the modern classics from Square Enix and PlatinumGames that has been a fixture in Steam libraries for years, has turned overnight into a hard drive devourer. According to Vandal, the game's latest update has pushed the space required to install it from the usual 50 GB to no less than 366 GB, a figure that swallows in one gulp most of the mid-sized SSDs we use for gaming.

This matters because we're not talking about new content or ultra-high-resolution textures, but about a plain and simple bug. A patch whose only purpose was to add languages has ended up multiplying the game's size by more than seven and, along the way, has unleashed a flood of negative reviews on Valve's store. If you have it installed or were thinking about starting it, you should read this before hitting the download button.

What you need to know

• From 50 GB to 366 GB: the space required by Nier: Automata on Steam has skyrocketed after its latest update, according to Vandal's report.
• The cause is a patch error: every single one of the game's DLCs now takes up the same space as the base game, hence the outrageous figure.
• The patch only meant to add languages: Korean, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese were its sole purpose.
• Clear recommendation: don't download the game until it's fixed and, if you already have it installed, turn off automatic updates.
• A fix is expected: everything points to Square Enix releasing a corrective patch soon, although there's no confirmed date for now.

What exactly happened

The explanation Vandal gives is as absurd as it is worrying. Square Enix released an update to add three Asian languages to the game, a change that under normal circumstances should barely add a few megabytes of text files and fonts. However, something went wrong in the way Steam calculates and packages the downloadable content, so that every Nier: Automata DLC is now registered with the same size as the full game. When all those inflated packages are added up, the store ends up asking for 366 GB of free space.

Most likely, a good chunk of those gigabytes are duplicated or misreferenced data, not real new content. But in practical terms it doesn't matter: Steam demands that space to complete the installation and, if you don't have it, the download simply won't start. For now, the only certain things are that the problem exists, that it has angered a lot of people and that the ball is in Square Enix's court.

Who it affects and how to protect yourself

The bug mainly hits two groups. On one hand, anyone who has the game installed with automatic updates enabled, because Steam will try to apply the patch and may get stuck or fill the drive to the brim. On the other, anyone who wants to install it now for the first time, who will run into a storage requirement that's impossible to meet on many machines. While the fix arrives, these are the steps we recommend:

1. If you already have it installed, go to the game's properties in your Steam library and change the update behaviour so they aren't applied automatically.
2. If you don't have it, wait. It's not worth losing hours of downloading or emptying your drive over an error that should disappear with the next patch.
3. If you've already fallen into the trap, check how much free space you have left before it starts affecting other games or your recordings.

Our take

Here at the Underworld Lordz newsroom we struggle to understand how a language patch reaches production without anyone checking the final installation size. It's one of the most basic checks there is, and the fact that the error slipped through gives an idea of how little quality control is applied to titles that are already considered finished. The game being several years old is no excuse: it's still sold at full price and still has a huge community that trusts every update to be safe.

For competitive players and content creators the problem is especially serious. Many of us work with drives stretched to the limit between ranked games, clips, raw recordings and streaming software. A patch that suddenly demands more than 300 extra GB isn't an inconvenience, it's a real risk of leaving you with no space right before a stream or a scrim session. The lesson is the usual one: turn off automatic updates for games you aren't actively playing and keep a safety margin on your main drive.

That said, we also have to be fair. It's a bug, not a design decision, and Square Enix will most likely fix it quickly. What we shouldn't normalise is the Steam community having to act as a QA team through negative reviews. If the company wants to regain trust, the bare minimum is to communicate when the fix is coming and explain what went wrong.

What do you think?

Today it was Nier: Automata, but tomorrow it could be any other game in your library. Do you have automatic updates enabled for everything, or have you already learned the lesson the hard way? Tell us in the team chat or on our Discord: how many gigabytes would you be willing to sacrifice for a patch you never asked for?