Loc Rewind 2025

The end of the year draws near, and it was a tumultuous one for the gaming industry – seemingly never-ending waves of layoffs and studios collapsing like houses of cards had severe repercussions on employees and contractors alike, the impact of which could be felt throughout the game localization industry. Amidst the doom and gloom, however, countless professionals are still hard at work to provide the best localized experiences to audiences around the world, whether as part of in-house teams, boutique studios, or collectives.

Part of that work involves raising awareness as to what great localization entails, and dozens of articles were published throughout the year to highlight those efforts – and in some cases, the lack of effort that led to mishaps and public backlash. Some of those pieces cover “localization-adjacent” topics, such as subtitling and voice acting, to give you a broader view of what’s been going on in 2025. Note that articles related to crediting (or lack thereof) are not included, but you can find the complete coverage on the dedicated page.

Without further ado, let’s take a look back at the news and topics that made headlines this year:

The year started off strong, with Polygon publishing a series of articles dedicated to how cultural differences affect not just how games are being translated, but also branded and distributed worldwide. We also heard the first rumblings of GenAI being used in voice production, leading to entire casts being fired or replaced, as seen with Apex Legends (meanwhile, Battlefield 6’s entire French VO production was moved to Quebec, presumably due to having more AI-friendly legislation). Over in Japan, the creator of the iconic EarthBound franchise, Shigesato Itoi, met with Marcus Lindblom, the original English translator, to discuss the title 30 years after its release.

• Nearly half of Cyberpunk 2077’s 5,000-person team worked on localizing the game
  • See also: Culture Shock, Polygon’s series about localization
• /r/games – Added Japanese localization for my game 8 months after and here is how it went
• Retro publisher admits 16-bit re-releases contain ‘uncredited’ fan translations
• French Apex Legends voice cast refuses contracts over “unacceptable” AI clause
  • All of Apex Legends’ French Voice Actors Have Quit
• Chants of Sennaar – How to translate a game with no words
• The Script of EarthBound
• Translator unions call out Keywords for lowballing contract workers

As summer rolled around, Steam dropped a bombshell on everyone by splitting all user review scores based on language, likely to prevent review bombing from specific regions, thus lowering a game’s overall rating. This resulted in some games being received widely differently across different regions, such as Silksong originally holding a “Mostly Negative” score in Chinese due to its questionable translation (which was later fixed), while receiving generally favorable reviews in every other language. Meanwhile, Polish developer 11 bit Studio was called out for its undisclosed use of GenAI in localized versions of The Alters due to “time constraints”, leading to ChatGPT prompts being displayed as part of the dialogues. The company later published a clarification and replaced the content with genuine assets.

• Riotloc – Excerpts from the Expedition 33 localization journal
• Language, Storytelling, and Magic: The Gathering®—FINAL FANTASY™
• Fans slam The Alters after discovering evidence of undisclosed gen AI in images, text, and translation
• Steam – Updates to User Review Scores Based on Language
  • Steam’s new language-specific review scores highlight Japanese players’ tendency to leave only negative reviews
• The Line Tidus Never Said in Final Fantasy X
• Final Fantasy XVI | Behind the Scenes of Square Enix’s Epic RPG
• The Incredible Story Behind Final Fantasy IX’s Epic Translation

Autumn marked the release of multiple GOTY contenders, including Silksong and Hades II (whose many localized songs I’ve covered on this page). Speaking of GOTYs, Polygon published a piece on how Blue Prince’s lack of localization – or rather, its nearly “untranslatable” nature, as seen in a different article below – may have cost it international recognition at The Game Awards, despite its popular reception. Over to the anime scene, media and localization specialist Daiz published an in-depth piece describing the downfall of Crunchyroll’s subtitles, and how executive greed consistently impacts quality across all mediums and disciplines – an unfortunately recurring topic this year.

• Hollow Knight: Silksong’s Steam Score Drops Over Poor Chinese Localization
• Undertale: 10 Years Later and still no translation (French, paywalled)
• Language as a Mechanic in Video Games
• In the GOTY race, localization really matters — which is bad news for Blue Prince
• How Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Was Brought To The West
• Crunchyroll is destroying its subtitles for no good reason

Winter was by far the most jam-pack season in terms of localization news: The hit game Arc Raiders, which has received critical acclaim from players and media alike, made waves for its use of AI-generated dialogues (based on voice lines recorded by real actors (despite them not being credited)), earning a 2/5 stars review on Eurogamer and sparking dialogue on what this means for the medium at large. In more uplifting news, localization and writing studio Shloc gave an in-depth interview over on the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences YouTube channel about the incredible challenges of localizing blockbuster franchises like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest.

• The Frustrating Irony of Arc Raiders’ Use of AI Explained
• Comparing the translations of Silksong
• You Can’t Report on Hunger While Taking Bread Off the Table
• TV, Movies, Games, and More: Audiovisual Localization and Linguistic Theory with Katrina Leonoudakis
• Did Resident Evil 4’s English Translation Really Butcher Leon’s Character?
• Blue Prince’s final puzzle is impossible to solve
• Sharing the Same Joy Worldwide: What Does Localization Look Like at hololive production?
• The Challenges of Game Localization, Writing and Recording with Shloc
• Thanks, AI hate it
  • Also from Sarah Moon:
    • Japanese Bojack Horseman | Understanding Adaptation
    • AI Could Never Translate This Anime (feat. Chihayafuru)

Aside from long-form articles, Reddit threads, and videos, multiple localization-related bangers (or otherwise noteworthy tweets) were also published on social media throughout the year. Here are some of my favorites – Feel free to add yours in the comments!

As those many publications have shown, localization is a vast topic that warrants coverage through multiple lenses, and it’s more important than ever to highlight the work of translators, editors, project managers, and all people whose contributions help make games accessible to audiences worldwide.

On a personal note, I’m happy to report that Loc’d and Loaded has received over 6.000 unique visits throughout 2025 (about 30% more than 2024), which is the kind of reach I would’ve never dreamed of when I started publishing my random ramblings online. Thank you all so much for your support, it means the world to me.

Until next time, I’d like to wish you all Happy Holidays – And don’t forget to hug your loved ones!