Some players have expressed significant dissatisfaction over the lack of official localization for their respective languages in the popular RPG titles.
Recently, players, particularly from Latin American countries, voiced criticism towards tobyfox, the acclaimed creator of Undertale and Deltarune, concerning the absence of official language support for these games.
In response to the growing concerns, tobyfox issued an open statement to clarify his position and the reasons behind the translation situation:
“Unfortunately, Undertale does not have official translations into any language other than Japanese. This includes Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, as well as Chinese, Korean, Russian, French, and many others. I understand that the absence of an official translation into your language can be very frustrating. However, I want to clarify: this is not due to any prejudice towards other countries.”
The developer emphasized that while he is generally open to official translations into various languages, he places paramount importance on the quality of these localizations and their faithful alignment with his original creative vision.
“Simply put, if I release something officially, I want it to fully conform to my vision. I was only able to create the Japanese translation because I speak the language myself and worked closely with our talented translator, meticulously reviewing all the text. I am not against official translations into other languages, provided we can implement them with the same level of quality… I previously explored various options with my publisher, but nothing came of it so far. Perhaps it’s time to try a different approach.”
tobyfox also expressed gratitude for the existence of numerous unofficial fan translations available for PC, noting the unexpected benefits:
“Given that I don’t understand other languages, the ability to let fans interpret the game themselves without the pressure of achieving ‘official perfection’ is incredibly valuable.”
Addressing the specific topic of Deltarune‘s translation, he explained the current development challenges:
“From a development perspective, it’s currently simply not feasible to support other languages, as it would significantly delay the game’s release…”