NieR:Automata suddenly asks for 366GB on Steam, and Square Enix has a temporary fix

NieR:Automata has not suddenly become a gigantic new release. Its November update did not introduce an enormous expansion, a graphical remake or a collection of ultra-high-resolution assets.

Yet Steam has been asking some users for more than 360GB of available storage when installing the game.

The reported figure is approximately 366.56GB, compared with the 50GB storage requirement normally listed for the PC version.

The issue appeared after a relatively modest update adding language support. It was serious enough for Square Enix to acknowledge it publicly and recommend a workaround.

A small update with a much larger consequence

The latest Steam patch adds Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Korean.

Its official notes do not mention substantial new content or technical changes that would justify hundreds of additional gigabytes.

Reports of the problem began circulating on November 5, while the Japanese announcement dates the update to November 6.

Users attempting to reinstall NieR:Automata discovered that Steam appeared to require several times the normal amount of free space.

RPG Site reported reproducing the unusually large installation requirement, and GamesRadar independently described encountering the same problem.

This matters because the issue is not simply an unusual number displayed in a news article.

The excessive storage requirement can interfere with installation itself, preventing users who have enough room for the normal game from proceeding.

DLC handling appears to be involved

Initial reports suggest the issue is associated with downloadable content.

Some players found that Steam appeared to assign the full game's approximate size to individual DLC entries.

If those amounts are counted repeatedly, the total storage requirement becomes dramatically larger.

The explanation is consistent with both the observed symptoms and Square Enix's recommended workaround.

However, the publisher has not officially established the underlying technical cause.

It has confirmed an excessive installation requirement and an ongoing investigation, not a definitive diagnosis of the Steam packaging error.

There is another important distinction: the 366GB figure describes the storage requirement encountered during installation. It does not establish that every completed installation permanently occupies that much disk space.

Some users report normal or near-normal final installation sizes, while others cannot begin installing because Steam requests too much free storage.

These differing experiences should not obscure the fact that the installation problem has been independently reproduced.

Square Enix's official workaround

Square Enix has provided a temporary procedure for players affected by the issue.

Users should open their Steam library, select NieR:Automata and navigate to the game's Properties menu.

From there, they should open the DLC tab and uncheck every listed downloadable content item.

Steam can then install the base game using the intended amount of storage, according to the publisher.

Unchecking DLC does not mean permanently surrendering ownership of purchased content. It prevents those items from being installed while they remain disabled.

Players should nevertheless understand that the excluded content will not be available through that temporary installation.

This is a workaround, not a permanent repair.

The publisher has not instructed users to remove game files manually, edit Windows system settings or obtain replacement files from third-party websites.

The recommended steps are performed entirely through Steam's normal interface.

Why the difference matters on PC

Storage capacity is an increasingly important consideration for PC gaming.

Many large releases now require well over 100GB, leaving users with limited room for additional installations, especially on smaller SSDs.

A game that normally requires approximately 50GB is manageable for a much wider range of systems than one demanding 366GB of available storage.

Users can therefore encounter a frustrating situation in which their drive has more than enough space for the actual game but not enough for Steam's abnormal installation requirement.

The distinction between installation workspace and final installed size is central to understanding this incident.

Digital distribution platforms may need temporary space to download, unpack, replace and verify files.

An error affecting one of those stages can block installation even when the resulting game files would occupy considerably less space.

That is particularly striking for NieR:Automata, an action RPG originally released on PC in March 2017.

Is NieR:Automata broken for everyone?

No evidence from Square Enix establishes that every existing installation has become unusable.

The confirmed issue concerns the amount of storage requested following the update, particularly during installation.

Some users report that their existing game installations remain playable.

Others have encountered difficulties when installing or updating the game.

It would therefore be inaccurate to claim that the entire Steam version has stopped working.

But describing the incident as merely cosmetic would also be misleading. Independent reporting demonstrates that the abnormal storage requirement can affect real installation attempts.

The permanent fix is still unconfirmed

On November 6, Square Enix acknowledged the problem, apologized and said it was investigating the cause.

It also shared the DLC-disabling workaround.

As of November 9, the official announcements reviewed for this report did not confirm that a general fix had been deployed and verified for every affected user.

Individual reports of successful installation do not necessarily establish that the wider problem has been resolved.

The safest place to follow future developments is the official NieR:Automata Steam announcements section.

Until further confirmation becomes available, users should distinguish the temporary workaround from an actual correction of the distribution issue.

An accessibility update with an unfortunate side effect

There is an unfortunate irony to the situation.

Square Enix intended to make NieR:Automata accessible to additional players by supporting more languages.

Instead, the update created an installation obstacle for some users.

The action RPG remains an important part of the publisher's catalog, with its blend of real-time combat, science-fiction storytelling and music continuing to attract new audiences years after release.

That longevity makes reliable maintenance particularly important.

A change introduced nearly a decade after launch can still affect people who have owned the game for years, as well as those installing it for the first time.

Square Enix has provided a practical way to access the base game while it investigates. The remaining question is when normal installation with all downloadable content will once again work without the unusual storage demand.