Altagram publishes new crediting policy after Baldur's Gate 3 blunder

Altagram, the localization company that recently caught flak after omitting the names of some freelance translators from the credits of Baldur's Gate 3, has published a new crediting policy it hopes will provide transparency moving forward.

The policy was sent to Game Developer shortly after we published an extensive interview with Altagram CEO Marie Amigues, in which she claimed major publishers and studios often prevent third-party companies like Altagram from sharing a complete list of credits. Highlighting the scale of the issue, Amigues estimated that Altagram has so far only be able to provide a full set of credits on around 5 percent of the projects it has worked on.

Earlier this year, however, multiple freelance localization workers told Game Developer the opposite is also true. One suggested they're been left "at the mercy" of third-party agencies who sometimes ask them to sign NDAs preventing them from contacting end clients in a bid to have credits corrected. Another said the issue of miscrediting is made worse by "ignorance" and "laissez-faire" attitude of some developers and publishers, who aren't aware of how localization works.

In the case of Altagram specifically, the company said its new crediting policy will apply to "all internal employees and external vendors, subcontractors, and third-party providers" who work on its projects.

Stylistically, the policy is largely based on the IGDA crediting guidelines, which were updated earlier this year, and states that Altagram will "strive to credit all internal, external, and former team members on projects they have worked on."

"We will follow the client's guidelines and requirements for crediting in their titles. Altagram may have some limitations or restrictions due to the client’s and/or platform’s guidelines and requirements," it reads.

The policy will use a tiering system that Altagram says prioritizes crediting individuals and teams who worked on in-game content. The company notes the inclusion of individuals and teams who worked on a title's out-of-game text will be at the discretion of the game's publishers.

Altagram targeting transparency, but suggests final credits will still be decided by publishers

Moving forward, Altagram said it will be transparent with its workforce about relevant crediting guidelines when it takes on a new project, and will "adhere to the client's crediting policy."

"Once a client’s crediting policy is known concerning a project or title, Altagram will inform its internal and external teams about the crediting guidelines and requirements for each project," wrote the company.

"Altagram will collect information from its internal and external teams for crediting purposes, such as their desired full name, role, language where applicable, and/or services provided. Altagram verifies the accuracy and completeness of this information, and updates it as needed. Altagram also keeps a record of the contributions of each team member to each project, such as the number of words translated, edited, or proofread, the number of hours worked, or the number of bugs reported or fixed."

If there's an instance when crediting individuals, both internal and external, isn't an option due to client or platform restrictions, Altagram has pledged to take alternative measures to recognize the work of its workers and contractors.

"In lieu of crediting in game, Altagram will request permission from the client so that individuals may include the project post-release in their CV and portfolio, if this does not infringe on any areas covered by an NDA or disclose any confidential or proprietary information about the title or client," it added.

"Should there be an error or an omission in the released version of the credits, Altagram is committed to rectifying the errors and omissions in a timely manner dependent upon permission from the publishers and developers."

You can read Altagram's crediting policy in full by clicking here.