Square Enix’s latest Nier: Automata update was supposed to add Korean, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese language support. Instead, the patch released on November 5 pushed the PC version of the game to 366GB. The original download was around 50GB. That is roughly seven times the size, and by one reviewer’s math, about 1.5 copies of GTA 6.

The cause is a bug, and a strange one. It applied the entire base game to every DLC pack included in the PC edition. Every add-on carried its own full copy of the game, and the install ballooned to a size that looks more like a modern shooter than a single-player action RPG.

Players noticed fast. Steam filled with negative reviews after the patch, and many said they could not play the game or download anything else because of the storage demand. Some reviewers were bitter about the size. Others were openly sarcastic.

“Undeniably good game which I’ve had to remove from my computer because some genius, presumably misusing automated tools, packed it into itself six times over, making a 360 gig install file. I’ll recommend this game after it is fixed.”

That review was one of several that poked fun at the situation. One joked that the update had been generated by an AI tool, a jab aimed at Square Enix and the growing suspicion that automated tools were involved in the patch. Another pointed out a detail that made the mess look worse. The Steam page still listed a 50GB storage requirement, so anyone checking the store listing before installing had no warning that the game would take up more than six times that space.

A third reviewer took a different route, raising the stakes for the publisher. They said they had played the game on PS4 and loved it, but called 366GB unacceptable for a company of Square Enix’s size. Their message was blunt: fix it, or they would stop their Final Fantasy XIV subscription. That kind of threat is rare, and it shows how quickly a technical error can become a question of trust.

Square Enix has acknowledged the problem. In a Japanese tweet, the company said it had confirmed an issue where, following the latest update to the Steam version, the installation process indicated that more storage space was required than expected. It said it was investigating the cause and working on a solution, and it apologized for the inconvenience.

Until that fix arrives, Square Enix has offered a workaround. Players can download the base game by unchecking the DLC under Steam, then going to Properties and selecting DLC. That lets people install the core game without the duplicated packs, though it does not solve the underlying bug for anyone who wants the full package right now.

The timing is awkward for a series whose fans have been waiting for news about its future. Nier: Automata has built a devoted following, and many fans are desperate for a proper follow-up. So far, nothing has been announced. Last November, director Yoko Taro said he had been working on various projects, but that they keep getting canceled. “I often get told stuff like, ‘Why aren’t you making a new sequel to NieR?’ or, ‘Yoko Taro isn’t doing anything,’ but that’s because recently, a lot of projects I was involved in got discontinued midway through development,” he said.

He added that the work has not disappeared, even if it has not reached players. “I’ve actually been working on some stuff, it’s just that it never ended up seeing the light of day. I got paid for it, so I personally have no issues with that, but people seem to think that I haven’t been doing anything just because none of the work I’ve done is being released.”

For now, the story is simple and absurd. A language update meant to widen the game’s audience instead ate hundreds of gigabytes of storage on PC. Square Enix has admitted the problem and promised a solution, but players who already installed the bloated version are still waiting. Anyone planning to install the game should check the DLC settings before downloading, and watch for the official fix.