Fans salute Square Enix translation veteran who died of cancer but kept translating during treatment

Neil Broadley, Square Enix’s localization director for the SaGa series, has died after living with stage four colon cancer for several years. In a message prepared before his death and posted by a colleague, he said continuing to translate games during treatment gave him a sense of purpose, and fans have paid tribute to his work.

Broadley continued working through treatment and said he would not live to see his next project released. He had brought in a successor to continue localizing the long-running fantasy franchise, which has recently attracted renewed attention. SaGa’s official account shared condolences to his family and loved ones.