Starfield without Russian language? Bethesda is secretly making a change to the Steam page, sparking discussion.
All Bethesda fan eyes are on Starfield’s September 6, 2023 release. After all, the sci-fi role-playing game is the first new brand from Bethesda Softworks in over 25 years, following The Elder Scrolls. So it’s no wonder that even secret changes to the game don’t stay secret for long. Like the Russian language version, which Bethesda has now deleted without comment.
Bethesda is removing Russian voice acting and doesn’t say why
Noticed the changes about the Steam databasewhere all customizations in the Steam store are listed chronologically. The April 11 entry unequivocally states that both the subtitles and all Russian voice acting for Starfield have been removed. Bethesda itself has not yet commented on the changes and is thus causing discussions.
On Reddit players speculate whether this could be a politically motivated decision and whether Bethesda wants to show solidarity with Ukraine.
On April 11, the secret change was made and the Russian language version was removed from the store page. (Source: steamdb.info)
Others, however, believe that it is more for economic reasons. Due to the sanctions imposed, Starfield will not be sold in Russia and Bethesda could save on the costs of a Russian localization. On the other hand, Bethesda’s Redfall continues to support Russian voice acting.
There is also criticism of this secret change from the player series. After all, it does not only affect players from Russia. Fans from CIS countries such as Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia or Uzbekistan are also dependent on the Russian version.
After this uncommented change, Starfield’s Steam page still has a total of nine language supports are listed. This also includes German with subtitles and audio.
It is unclear what the deletion of the Russian version is all about and whether other Bethesda titles will follow this model. We’ve requested a statement from Bethesda and will keep you posted if we get a response.
