ASTRA Drops English Dub, Joining the Trend in Gachas

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, aims to enhance game stability and improve the quality of other localized versions.

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 will default to Japanese for players outside of Korea. FLINT assures players this change won't affect in-game chat functionality in any previously supported 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 in May 2024, citing a prioritization of Japanese. Yostar Games' Aether Gazer completely dropped English dubbing in February 2024 due to financial constraints, reallocating resources to improve gameplay and future content. Snowbreak: Containment Zone also removed English voiceovers in December 2023, citing an evaluation of player preferences and the pursuit of an optimal gaming experience.

The trend suggests a focus on either player preference (prioritizing the most popular language) or resource management (reducing the long-term costs of maintaining multiple voice-over languages). This allows developers to invest more in game longevity and features valued by their player base.