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 scheduled for January 23, 2025. This decision, announced by developer FLINT on January 20th, aims to bolster game stability and enhance localization quality.
The January 23rd maintenance will result in the removal of German, Spanish, Portuguese, Indonesian, and Italian language support. However, Korean, English text, Japanese, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, French, Thai, and Russian will remain. Crucially, while English text will persist, in-game voice acting will switch to Japanese for regions outside Korea. FLINT assures players this change won't affect in-game chat functionality in any previously supported language.
This move follows similar decisions by other gacha game developers. Square Enix's War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius phased out English voiceovers for new content in May 2024, prioritizing Japanese. Yostar Games' Aether Gazer completely removed English dubbing in February 2024 due to financial constraints, redirecting resources to gameplay and future content. Snowbreak: Containment Zone also dropped English voiceovers in December 2023, citing an evaluation of player preferences and optimization efforts.
The rationale behind these decisions often centers on resource allocation and player preference. Prioritizing the most popular language is cost-effective, especially considering the long-term commitment of voice acting for ongoing content updates. By reallocating resources, developers aim to ensure the game's continued success and focus on features valued most by their player base.
