Baldur’s Gate 3 devs respond to backlash over uncredited translators

Baldur’s Gate 3 fans noticed a major discrepancy in the game’s credits. Now, Larian Studios have responded to a number of translators going uncredited for their work.

Baldur’s Gate 3 has had one of the most successful launches of 2023 shattering even its developer’s expectations. The game’s popularity has pushed it into the top ten highest concurrently played games of all time on Steam.

The unfathomable amount of content and freedom of choice the game provides has delighted its players. The project was clearly a massive labor of love over many years.

It’s understandable then that the game’s community was outraged when they discovered translators working for localization firm Altagram weren’t credited for their work on the project. Fan backlash was swift across social media and developer Larian Studios responded in kind.

Translators for @baldursgate3 worked for 𝟯 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 translating more than 𝟭 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀 and @Altagram_Group only credited their execs & leads.

Let's be clear: this practice is always unethical, but here, like with Persona before, it's downright 𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗟. https://t.co/ux0nZLm5wg

— Marc E.G. ❍ Loc Madman (@MittoVac) August 9, 2023

Larian Studios’ speaks on uncredited translator controversy

In a statement made to Eurogamer, a representative from Larian explained the situation was not known to them and not a decision of theirs. “This was all Altagram group,” a spokesperson explained. “We reached out, and compelled them to fix this.”

Larian have asked Altagram for a list of employees who contributed and said that they would ensure that these translators were added to the credits. “As soon as we were made aware, we took steps with Altagram to remedy this immediately,” Larian’s spokesperson confirmed.

Under the initial tweet that broke the story, an employee of the Spanish localization team for Baldur’s Gate 3 explained the level of work that Altagram’s staff would have contributed to the project.

“As a member of the (credited) Spanish team, I can confirm that it took us almost 4fouryears and that the final amount of text is over 2.5 million words,” they explained. “All translators were credited except those working for Altagram.”

Diablo IV apparently has 41 minutes of credits, yet @Altagram_Group didn't feel it necessary to credit the German freelance translators. Shame on you.#translatorsinthecredits pic.twitter.com/nzomWoXO31

— Jalapeno (@JalapenoMunich) June 5, 2023

Larian initially told Eurogamer that the credits would be added in a future Hotfix. They have since clarified that the update will instead come in the game’s first major patch.

Players have praised Larian’s quick response and pointed out that Altagram has previously left translators uncredited for work on Diablo 4. The issue has sparked conversations regarding how much work goes into video game localization and how to improve the industry.