Nier: Automata received a negative reception when it arrived on PC in 2019, as it was a port with enough problems that players were not satisfied. The new Xbox Game Pass port for PC appears to be a completely new version, with many of those issues fixed., which has caused players to be upset that those improvements seem to have forgotten the existing version of Steam.
Nier: Automata has just arrived on Xbox Game Pass and players have quickly discovered that the Windows Store version of the game is an updated version of Become As Gods, rather than the Steam version ‘vanilla’. IGN tested both versions and found that unlike the Steam version, the Windows 10 edition boots in a borderless window mode, does not stretch its image, and is noticeably sharper. (image comparison below).
Polish portability specialist QLOC has revealed that it helped tweak the Xbox game for its new PC version, explaining that it has added borderless video settings, FidelityFX options, HDR, and 4K UI textures. The game is still capped at 60 FPS, which was a common complaint about the original Steam version, and we have not yet been able to do extensive testing to rule out performance issues.
The question that remains is whether those who have already paid for the game on Steam will see any of these improvements., and many players are not happy about it because there has not been any kind of statement about it yet.
On the QLOC Facebook page, others implored the studio to improve the Steam version (although it’s probably out of their hands).
We have asked Square Enix if these new updates and improvements will also be released for the Steam version of the game, but have not received a response at this time.