Yoko Taro Thinks the Gaming World Is Losing Its Weird Side: “I Feel There’s Less ‘weird people’ Now”
Yoko Taro, the creator of NieR: Automata and Drakengard, says the game industry doesn’t have as many “weird” people as it used to. He shared this thought on his X account after a fan asked if game developers are known for being strange or different.
Yoko, who has worked in games for about 30 years, replied, “I feel there’s less ‘weird people’ now. I don’t know if this is something simply happening in my field of view, if the game industry ended up like this, or if the whole world is like this now.”
This came from a fan question referencing The True Biography of Game Creators, a book that features stories about unique personalities in the game world. The fan asked if those kinds of people still exist in the industry, and which parts of it they’re most common in.
Yoko Taro is known for being strange in a good way. He wears a big mask in public and makes games that don’t follow usual rules.
He once called his own games “Weird Games for Weird People.” Instead of making things to sell big, he often focuses on personal and strange ideas that somehow end up becoming hits. The original NieR games were considered niche at first, but still gained a strong following.
In past interviews, Yoko has talked about how important it is to go against the flow. He’s praised developers like Fumito Ueda, the mind behind ICO, for doing things their own way. Yoko said his team always tries to avoid copying what others are doing. “Our concept is always to do something that’s ‘not like anything else,’” he said during a talk with other game directors.
He gave an example of Western sci-fi games using soldiers in heavy armor, while his characters might wear Gothic Lolita outfits instead. “We tend to take the contrarian route,” he added.
ゲーム業界に３０年いるんですが、「変な人」は減った気がしますね。
— yokotaro (@yokotaro) June 16, 2025
単に僕の見ている範囲の現象なのか、ゲーム業界がそうなったのか、世の中全体がそうなのかはよくわかりませんが。 pic.twitter.com/xkueiPlrtB
But if fewer people in the industry are thinking that way now, what does it mean for the future of games? Yoko seems worried that the push for safer, more profitable games could take away the creative risks that lead to truly special work.
He’s even joked that in the future, game developers might end up like wandering musicians, no longer able to make a living because of AI.
Still, Yoko told fans not to take his predictions too seriously. Even so, it’s clear that he values the role of weird, bold thinkers in the industry.
In my opinion, gaming needs people like Yoko Taro—creators who aren’t afraid to do something different, even if it doesn’t look profitable at first. Weird games may not please everyone, but they often leave the biggest impact.
What do you think? Is the game industry becoming too safe? Do we need more strange ideas in games? Let us know in the comments.