Yoko Taro, the eccentric director behind the NieR series, revealed that nearly half of his autographs being resold online are forgeries — a shocking reminder that even game developers aren’t safe from scalpers’ greed.

The controversy began when a signed NieR Reincarnation soundtrack appeared on Vinted, a resale platform mainly used for clothing and books. Although reselling a signed item isn’t inherently unethical, this particular autograph was fake. Taro personally confirmed it on X (formerly Twitter): “This autograph is a fake. I include small, unknown features in my real autographs to prevent reselling, so I can tell when one isn’t genuine. Nearly half of the autographs being resold are fake, so please don’t buy them.”

Taro uses subtle, secret identifiers in every authentic signature to make counterfeiting more difficult. According to him, the number of fake autographs online is “shockingly high,” and he urged fans not to support scalpers by purchasing them. Naturally, this sparked a flood of fans asking whether their own signed items were genuine — ironically helping counterfeiters gather reference material.

The incident highlights the darker side of collectible culture, where opportunistic sellers exploit fandom enthusiasm. Similar issues have surfaced before — from canceled Pokémon card giveaways due to aggressive scalpers to fake listings of unreleased hardware and “limited” items sold for absurd prices. Authenticity, it seems, has become another battlefield in gaming culture.

Taro noted that forging autographs isn’t just immoral but also illegal in many countries. He added that he occasionally alters his signature to stay ahead of counterfeiters. Perhaps fittingly for the creator of NieR: Automata, his revelation forces us to reflect on the concept of identity and originality — both in art and in commerce.

Source: PC Gamer, Yoko Taro (X)