4 years after the game’s release, someone has discovered the final secret to Nier: Automata. It provides the option to skip the game entirely and allows you to get to the final ending of the game. After the secret was discovered, the official Nier Twitter account and Game Director Yoko Taro confirmed that this is indeed the final secret.

If you weren’t aware, Nier: Automata is very unique. It shares something that some games do in that there are multiple endings to the game and players will play different characters throughout the experience. However, the final ending is something else and this newly discovered cheat lets players get to the final ending without playing most of the game.

I found a cheat code in NieR Automata that allows you to skip to the last ending immediately after killing the first boss and unlock the bonus modes. I’ll do a full video soon. It’s not a glitch, it’s an actual cheat code hard-coded into the engine. @yokotaro pic.twitter.com/FtuNPovq6F

— Lance McDonald (@manfightdragon) January 3, 2021

The cheat was discovered by Lance McDonald who tweeted out a short snippet of how it all works. Lance said that a full video will be released soon. There is a prerequisite in order to do the cheat. You’ll have to beat the first boss. After you do that, you go to the back of the arena, do some jumps and then you are given the option of doing something that you can only do in the final ending.

Spoilers for Nier: Automata: After unlocking ending “E”, a final credits sequence involves you in a retro shooting sequence with other players’ save data helping you defeat the text itself. Once you complete this, you’re presented with the option of sacrificing your save data which gives another player the chance to beat the game too. The cheat you can do essentially unlocks the option to sacrifice your save data but you don’t need to play the rest of the game or do the retro shooter sequence.

#ニーアオートマタ 最後の秘密が発見されたようです。ネタバレを含むものですので、未プレイの方はSNSなどご注意ください。

— NieR公式PRアカウント (@NieR_JPN) January 3, 2021

Responding to the news, the official Nier Twitter account wrote “it seems that the last secret has been discovered. Since it includes spoilers, please be careful SNS etc. if you have not played.” Game Director Yoko Taro tweeted:

( NieR:Automata Spoilers )
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3 years 10 months.
（◎血◎）

RT: @manfightdragon
I found a cheat code in NieR Automata (snip) https://t.co/2LeNlBguLi

— yokotaro (@yokotaro) January 3, 2021