ASTRA: Knights of Veda Bids Farewell to English Dubbing
Following a trend among gacha games, ASTRA: Knights of Veda will be removing its English voiceovers after maintenance on January 23, 2025. This decision, announced by developer FLINT on January 20th, aims to enhance game stability and improve the quality of other language localizations.
The upcoming maintenance will result in the removal of German, Spanish, Portuguese, Indonesian, and Italian language support. However, Korean, English (text only), Japanese, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, French, Thai, and Russian will remain. Crucially, while English text will be retained, in-game voice acting will default to Japanese for players outside of Korea. FLINT assures players this change won't affect in-game chat functionality in any of the removed languages.
This move follows similar decisions by other gacha game developers. Square Enix's War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, for example, removed English voiceovers from future content updates to prioritize Japanese. Yostar Games’ Aether Gazer also eliminated English dubbing due to financial constraints, focusing resources on gameplay and future content. Snowbreak: Containment Zone similarly removed the feature, citing an evaluation of player preferences and optimization of the gaming experience.
The trend suggests a prioritization of either the dominant player language or resource management. Focusing on the most popular language is a logical business decision, while the long-term cost of maintaining English voice acting in gacha games with extended lifespans is significant. By reallocating resources, developers aim to ensure the game's continued success and improvement.
