LogIn"Written and verbal fluency in Arabic or Korean desirable but not essential," reads the job position.
Image Credit: Bethesda, Starfield
In case you missed it, it was disclosed back in June that Bethesda's highly anticipated sci-fi RPG, Starfield, would only be initially available in nine languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, and Simplified Chinese.
While Xbox Head Phil Spencer commented that Microsoft simply "can't localize every game to every market," players from various regions expressed disappointment over the lack of localization. Some even went so far as to create petitions, aiming to raise awareness and encourage the developers to localize Starfield in their respective languages.
It appears these efforts may have yielded results, as indicated by a recent job posting from ZeniMax, Bethesda's parent company. Discovered by Twitter user Xbox News for Koreans, the studio is seeking a Localization Producer to oversee the localization process for assigned projects. According to the position, the main task of the Localization Producer would be to ensure translation quality, proper timing, and necessary testing to bring top-tier products to market.
Furthermore, the position states that written and verbal fluency in Arabic or Korean is desirable for candidates, albeit not essential. Notably, both Korean and Arabic communities were among the most vocal in criticizing Bethesda for not localizing Starfield into their languages. The emergence of this new position has sparked hope that the game might eventually support additional languages in the future.
The list of qualifications also includes:
- Excellent oral and written communication skills in English
- Knowledge of software internationalization and localization principles
- Proven experience in translation, localization, or games production
- Proven experience in project management within the entertainment or communication industries
- High attention to detail and accuracy
- Highly proficient at MS Excel
- Ability to produce high-quality results under tight deadlines
- Ability to analyze, prioritize, and resolve problems
- Ability to work on several tasks at once with frequent interruptions while meeting sensitive deadlines
- Understanding of different cultures and cross-cultural differences
As ZeniMax's Localization Producer, you will be responsible for:
- Planning, organizing, and monitoring large localization projects independently, ensuring consistency with timelines, quality, and budgeted expenses
- Communicating with studios to internationalize projects making sure the localization process runs smoothly
- Localization asset preparation, coordination, and management between divisions/departments and external vendors
- Communicating between localization contact(s) within the localization team, territories, and localization vendors
- Ensuring the smooth running of projects, and swift identification and resolution of issues
- Ensuring a consistent result across all assets for each game
- Such other duties as may be set forth by the Company
You can learn more and apply for the position here.
Last week, Starfield also went gold, meaning that its planned release date is not likely to change. The game is set to release on September 6, 2023, on PC and Xbox Series X/S. Furthermore, Starfield will be included in the Play Anywhere program, granting those who purchase it on the Microsoft Store access to both the PC and Xbox versions of the game.
Learn more about the upcoming game here. Also, don't forget to join our 80 Level Talent platform and our Telegram channel, follow us on Threads, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.