NieR: Automata Ver 1.1a was hit with production delays due to COVID and has been on hiatus since March, but the anime now has an official return date.

After a lengthy hiatus, NieR: Automata Ver 1.1a has finally announced an official return date. NieR: Automata was one of the most anticipated anime of the winter 2023 season, with old and new fans alike excited to see how the popular video game would be translated into animation, and original game creator Yoko Taro writing for the anime was an especially big draw. Unfortunately, NieR: Automata ended up being one of several anime to have their productions impacted by COVID, other notable examples being Ayakashi Triangle and the Black Clover movie, and after episode #8, the anime went on an indefinite hiatus with no return in sight.

NieR: Automata Ver 1.1a wasn’t able to make it through the winter 2023 season, but fortunately, its return date has finally been announced. According to Anime News Network, NieR: Automata Ver 1.1a will return on Sunday, July 23, during which time all four remaining episodes will be marathoned one after another. The exact content that will be covered is unknown at this time, but taking the events of the game into account, it’s easy enough to predict what the last four episodes will adapt, and that, in turn, invites some important questions about the anime’s future.

NieR: Automata Ver 1.1a’s Final Four Episodes Debut on July 23rd

With NieR: Automata Ver 1.1a finally having an official return date, something that needs to be considered is what the final four episodes will cover. With the anime currently set to run for only 12 episodes, it would be impossible for the entirety of the game to be covered in a cohesive manner, so with its current pacing, the anime is likely to focus solely on the first half of the game. If that’s the case, that would mean that the final four episodes would cover the Grün boss fight, the machine lifeform cult, 9S learning the truth of the war, and the final battles against Adam and Eve.

That being said, there isn’t a complete guarantee that the anime will be so straightforward. While NieR: Automata Ver 1.1a has maintained the overall story of the game, there have been notable differences in the story such as the inclusion of spinoff material, more explicit references to other games in the Drakengard franchise, and changes to key elements of the game such as 2B and 9S not learning the truth about the aliens and Emil not becoming a supporting character. The anime has clearly diverged into a story that isn’t exactly like the game, and that makes it harder to conclude what the final four episodes will cover.

Will NieR: Automata Ver 1.1a Get A Season 2?

Another question that NieR: Automata Ver 1.1a’s return invites is whether or not the anime will receive a season 2. As previously discussed, the anime’s current pacing means that it’s likely only covering the first half of the game, so anything from the second half could only be adapted in a hypothetical season 2. While there have been rumors of NieR: Automata Ver 1.1a running for 24 episodes, at the time of writing, there has yet to be an official announcement, and with the first half of the game able to function as a somewhat complete story, it wouldn’t be impossible for the anime to just stop there.

There’s no guarantee that NieR: Automata Ver 1.1a will get a season 2, but the idea of it happening isn’t completely out there. In addition to how much of a massive success the original game was, Yoko Taro wrote the anime specifically to be a different experience from the game, and it would be hard to sell that idea if the anime only covers the first half of the game. There’s plenty of reasoning to support NieR: Automata Ver 1.1a getting a season 2, but whether or not that happens will likely be unknown until after the final four episodes air on July 23.

Sources: Anime News Network, Youtube.