Summary
FromSoftware will address the issue of incompleteElden Ringtranslation credits, with Bandai Namco confirming as much in a recent statement. The change will roll out as part of an upcomingElden Ringupdate.
Shortly following thehistoric debut ofElden Ring’sShadow of the Erdtreeexpansion, some players have noticed that the game’s translation credits are incomplete. While members of certain localization teams were credited by name, others have gone unmentioned, with the acknowledgment of their contributions being reduced to the name of their employer or agency listed under the “special thanks” section of the credits.
Elden Ring Publisher Apologizes For Incomplete Translation Credits
The issue has now been acknowledged by the game’s official Twitter account, which is run byElden Ringpublisher Bandai Namco. Although the company did not clarify the circumstances that resulted in the credits being incomplete, it apologized for the oversight and said that the matter will be addressed in an upcoming update, which is set to roll out “as soon as possible.” The statement concluded with an expression of “gratitude and respect” for everyone who contributed toElden Ring’s development.
The current version of the game’s credits, last revised withShadow of the Erdtree’s June 21 release, does not mention any translators or localizers from the Soulsborne’s Latin American teams by name. It also fails to individually credit the people who localizedElden Ringinto Thai. The game’s 11 remaining localization teams have all received exhaustive credits. This mistake is far from unique toElden Ring, as big-budgetgames regularly come under scrutiny for failing to properly credit their translatorsand localizers.
The blame for such omissions sometimes lies in the translation agencies who fail to provide an exhaustive list of employees and contractors contributing to a given project. But whether that was the case withElden Ringis unclear. Some publishers do purposefully omit information about their support staff, such as localizers. Nintendo is one of the biggest names in the industry who adheres to such practices. This localization policy was recently highlighted in an exposé thataccused Nintendo of systemically miscrediting external translators.
Incomplete credits aren’t merely a matter of wounding the egos of people whom they omit. They can also be harmful to the excluded experts' careers, preventing their prospective future employers and clients from easily verifying their qualifications. Their negative effects are exacerbated by the fact that many games industry localizers and translators are freelancers, who are often on the lookout for new assignments and thus frequently find themselves in need of offering proof of their past accomplishments.
Elden Ring
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ELDEN RING, developed by FromSoftware, Inc. and BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc., is a fantasy action-RPG adventure set within a world created by Hidetaka Miyazaki and George R.R. Martin. Danger and discovery lurk around every corner in FromSoftware’s largest game to date. Hidetaka Miyazaki - President and Game Director of FromSoftware Inc. Known for directing critically-acclaimed games in beloved franchises including Armored Core and Dark Souls.George R.R. Martin is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of many novels, including the acclaimed series A Song of Ice and Fire - A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast For Crows, and A Dance with Dragons. As a writer-producer, he has worked on The Twilight Zone, Beauty and the Beast, and various feature films and pilots that were never made. He lives with the lovely Parris in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
