Baldur’s Gate 3 in Polish is a mission impossible. Dubbing would cost a fortune
Baldur’s Gate 3 immediately became a hit, but in the title we will not hear the Polish dubbing and the legendary “Before setting out on the road…”. A well-known Polish translator explained why a full Polish language version of the sought-after RPG is rather impossible.
On the day of the release of Baldur’s Gate 3, the developers of the game from Larian Studios confirmed that the title has already sold 2.5 million copies, counting the Early Access period on Steam. After the long-awaited debut of version 1.0, this number is constantly growing. The game has a chance to become one of the biggest hits of 2023.
However, Polish fans of the legendary RPG series do not seem to be completely satisfied. Baldur’s Gate 3 has only the cinematic Polish language version – there is no Polish dubbing, very strongly associated with the series. However, there is a good reason for this.
Baldur’s Gate 3 – Polish dubbing would be extremely expensive
“Before you set off, you should gather a team” – the famous phrase of Piotr Fronczewski as the narrator of Baldur’s Gate is remembered by a whole generation of Polish gamers. However, it is in vain to look for a familiar atmosphere and translated dialogues in the latest Baldur’s Gate 3. The English dialogues are well made, but they do not hit the heart.
Why did the creators not try to record Polish actors? The case was recently clarified by Ryszard Chojnowski – a well-known translator and founder of the localization company Albion. In a Twitter post, he indicates that it is a matter of the significant costs of such an initiative.
“Baldur’s Gate 3 is excellent, but the full Polish version is missing. The problem is that the cost of making it is probably several hundred thousand zlotys, and Larian is unlikely to go for it. Well, unless the community would do a fundraiser;)” – the expert begins optimistically.
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Soon after, however, Chojnowski updated his position. The news that the Baldur’s Gate 3 game script is to be over 2 million words long, the situation seems even more hopeless to the specialist than at the beginning.
“The cost of the translations alone was PLN 800,000 per door. Therefore, the recordings would cost several million zlotys. I bet we won’t see them :)” – the interpreter corrects himself.
According to the founder of Albion, Larian Studios has little to gain here either. The game is already released in the Polish cinema version. Adding dubbing after the fact is an investment of millions, which could translate into an increase in sales of “a dozen or so percent”. So it seems that Polish dubbing will remain only a dream of native players.
