NieR Creator Yoko Taro Says He Would Retire From Making Video Games but Fear of Dementia Keeps Him Working

October 9, 2026 - 11:12

Yoko Taro, the director behind the Nier and Drakengard series, has admitted he would rather stop making video games altogether. In a recent interview, he was asked whether he had any current projects or plans for a new game. His answer was blunt. "Nothing really," he said, adding that he is done with working and does not want to do it anymore.

That confession might surprise fans who have followed his career for years. Taro is known for his unconventional storytelling and his habit of wearing a signature mask in public. Yet according to him, the desire to step away is real. The reason he has not retired comes down to something far more personal than a love for the medium.

Taro explained that he continues to work because he is afraid of developing dementia. Staying mentally active, he suggested, may help keep his mind sharp as he gets older. Making games, with all the writing, planning, and problem solving involved, gives him a way to exercise his brain. So even though he says he does not want to keep working, he keeps showing up anyway.

The comments offer a strange mix of honesty and dark humor, which fits Taro's public persona. He has never treated game development as a sacred calling. For now, fans can take some comfort in knowing that his fear of cognitive decline may be the very thing that keeps new projects alive. Whether that leads to another Nier game or something else entirely remains unclear.