ASTRA: Knights of Veda Bids Farewell to English Dubbing

Following a trend among gacha games, ASTRA: Knights of Veda will be removing its English voice-over option after maintenance on 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 also remove support for German, Spanish, Portuguese, Indonesian, and Italian. 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 that this change won't affect in-game chat functionality in any previously supported language.

This move follows similar decisions by other gacha developers. Square Enix's War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius phased out English voice-overs for new content in May 2024, prioritizing Japanese. Yostar Games' Aether Gazer completely removed English dubbing in February 2024 due to financial constraints, focusing resources on gameplay and future content. Snowbreak: Containment Zone also dropped English voice-overs in December 2023, citing an evaluation of player preferences and resource optimization.

The rationale behind these decisions often boils down to resource allocation and player preference. Focusing on the most popular language streamlines development, while the long-term costs of maintaining multiple language voice-overs can be substantial for gacha games with ongoing content updates. By reallocating resources, developers aim to ensure the game's continued success and player satisfaction.