The Nier: Automata Church
2022 video game mod
The Nier: Automata Church (stylized as The NieR: Automata Church) is a mod for the Windows version of Nier: Automata developed by the trio of DevolasRevenge, Woeful_Wolf and RaiderB, and released on September 6, 2022. The mod adds a secret church area to the game, accessible from its Copied City area via a hidden door, featuring references to the series.
It gained notoriety due to its initial reveal on the social news website Reddit, where it was presented as a possible Easter egg left in the game by director Yoko Taro by a confused player who accidentally unlocked it. This claim was made more believable by Yoko's history of adding Easter eggs to his games, including Automata itself, and the fact that it was supposedly impossible to mod the game at that point, with the game's producer and Yoko himself both cryptically acknowledging and encouraging the hoax. This led to a large collaborative effort by the game's fans to find the conditions to trigger it. The hoax was eventually revealed on July 29, 2022, via a Twitch stream held by its creators, who then released the modding tools they used to develop it.
The mod was described by journalists as an impressive technical feat, while the process it was revealed was characterized as a gripping mystery and one of the most major video game hoaxes. The ensuing "church saga" was noted as extending outside the video game realm and involving non-fans in the detective work.
Hoax
The hoax originated in a "cryptic post" left on Reddit by user "sadfutago" on June 15, 2022, who asked how to open a church in Nier: Automata, claiming their friend could not open it. However, the area was never before seen and inaccessible to other players.
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