The localization team for Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown discusses the historic inclusion of the Persian language in the 35-year-old franchise for the first time.
“I couldn’t believe I was going to work on an actual Prince of Persia game!” Sepehr Torabi expressed his astonishment upon learning that he would be providing voices for multiple characters in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. Torabi, an experienced voice actor, runs his own sound studio called Persian Dub Group, which engages in various content productions, including voice acting and music for Iranian digital games. The studio has also expanded its services internationally by providing dubbing for upcoming Chinese games.
Torabi was initially hired by Moj-e Kitab, a well-known book publication in Iran with a voice acting agency, for a project referred to as ‘The Iranian Prince.’ Initially assuming it was an unofficial translation or a new IP from an Iranian developer, Torabi was kept in the dark about the true nature of the project until later stages.
“Even when I asked them to take a look at the script before recording, they didn’t allow it,” Torabi mentioned, highlighting the secrecy surrounding the project. It wasn’t until the completion of the dubbing process that Torabi learned he had worked on Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown.
“It felt like a fever dream. I wasn’t sure it was the official dub of the game either until the recent trailers from Ubisoft showed our work,” Torabi reflected on the surreal experience.
This localization effort marks a significant milestone as the first Western game to be fully localized into Persian (or Farsi). While previous games, including those in the Prince of Persia series, drew inspiration from Persian history and culture, none had received official Persian localization until now.
Persian, spoken by around 130 million people worldwide, serves as an official language in various regions, with Iran and Afghanistan being significant examples. However, geopolitical challenges and diplomatic issues have hindered widespread game localization into Persian.
While some games, like Darksiders 3, included Persian subtitles, none matched the scale of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, which features full dubbing into Persian.
Lida Mahmoudi, the project manager of Moj-e Kitab, emphasized the uniqueness of this project, stating, “The majority of localizations in Iran are typically done through unofficial means, but this project is officially localized with the supervision of Ubisoft. This is unprecedented in the industry.”
Sepehr Torabi sees this as a crucial step forward for Iranian voice actors in the gaming industry. The overwhelmingly positive reaction from the Iranian gaming community indicates a desire for more games to be localized into Persian.
The localization team pointed out that Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is the most Persian iteration of the franchise to date, with explicit efforts to include Persian locations, mythologies, creatures, and more.
While some developers expressed initial concerns about the representation of Persian culture, overall, there is hope for the future of localization efforts by Ubisoft. However, some remain skeptical, citing the lack of official records and potential challenges in convincing publishers to invest in Persian localization.
Despite criticisms and challenges, everyone involved acknowledges that The Lost Crown is a significant step forward in representing Persian culture in the Prince of Persia franchise, allowing Persian players to finally enjoy the game in their own language.
