Fans in Arabic-speaking nations, Korea, and others are rallying to request better localization for Starfield from Xbox and Bethesda.
— Jez (@JezCorden) June 14, 2023
Here's why this is so important: https://t.co/felf2zlXfZ #Xbox #Starfield #PCGaming
I kind of see both sides here. On the one hand, Starfield is a game with 250,000 lines of dialogue, my rough calculations show that would be a 1400 manhour translation job per language, and that 1400 hours number could be on the low side, it may actually be higher than that. Paying for a 1400 (or more) manhour translation for each language would get pretty expensive, there are some markets where Xbox sells so few consoles that they just wouldn't be able to sell enough copies to turn a profit on the translation. However, on the other hand, I'm pretty sure that sales potential in both Korea and Arabic speaking countries is high enough to turn a profit on translations for both, between Xbox and PC sales of the game. There is also the argument to be made that Xbox is never going to grow their fanbase in these more niche countries and regions unless they actually invest money into those markets, even if doing so is loss leading initially.
