ASTRA Drops English Dub in Latest Update

ASTRA: Knights of Veda Bids Farewell to English Dubbing

Following a maintenance update scheduled for January 23, 2025, ASTRA: Knights of Veda will be removing its English voiceovers. This decision, announced by developer FLINT on January 20th, aims to bolster game stability and improve the quality of its localized content.

The January 23rd maintenance will also see the removal of German, Spanish, Portuguese, Indonesian, and Italian language support. However, Korean, Japanese, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, French, Thai, and Russian will remain. While English text will still be available, in-game voice acting for players outside of Korea will default to Japanese. FLINT assures players this change won't affect in-game chat functionality in any of the removed languages.

This move follows a trend among gacha games. Several titles, including War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, Aether Gazer, and Snowbreak: Containment Zone, have also scaled back or eliminated English voiceovers. Reasons cited often include prioritizing the language preferred by the largest player base and managing the long-term costs associated with voice acting.

For example, Square Enix's War of the Visions shifted future content to Japanese voice acting to streamline localization efforts. Aether Gazer cited financial constraints as the reason for removing English dubbing entirely. Snowbreak: Containment Zone's decision was based on an assessment of player preferences and the overall gaming experience.

Ultimately, these decisions highlight the balancing act developers face between providing diverse language support and resource allocation to ensure the long-term health and quality of their games.