Game translation goes far beyond text, it’s about creating immersive experiences for players worldwide. Game translation companies specialize in localizing dialogue, menus, subtitles, voiceovers, and cultural references so that the game feels native to every audience.
Common questions about gaming translation answered by our team.
Video game localization is the comprehensive adaptation of a game for players in a specific language and cultural market. It goes far beyond translating text to include adapting UI strings, character dialogue, subtitles, in-game tutorials, marketing materials, age rating compliance, culturally sensitive content, and sometimes audio dubbing. Translation Ratings lists 12 gaming localization companies in the United States.
Game translation is the conversion of written text from one language to another. Game localization is a much broader process that adapts the entire game experience for a target market, including cultural references, humor, names, icons, colors, date and number formats, censorship compliance (different markets have different content restrictions), and sometimes redesigning UI elements to accommodate longer text in languages like German or Finnish.
The standard set for global game releases is often called EFIGS: English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish. Beyond that, priority markets include: Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Dutch, and Arabic. Japanese and Korean markets are particularly valuable for certain genres. Chinese and Korean markets for mobile games are among the highest-revenue targets globally.
Game localization projects typically cover: in-game UI strings (menus, HUD elements, tooltips), story dialogue and character scripts, subtitles and closed captions, tutorial and help text, loading screen tips, marketing descriptions (App Store, Steam, console stores), trailers and promotional video subtitles, in-game documentation and lore books, patch notes and update communications, and customer support content.
LQA (Linguistic Quality Assurance) is the in-game testing phase of game localization where native-speaking testers play the game and evaluate translated content in context. LQA checks for text truncation or overflow in UI elements, text that is incorrect in context despite being accurately translated from a spreadsheet, missing translations, placeholder text left in the game, and bugs introduced by localized content. LQA is essential for a polished localization.
Many do, or they partner with specialized voice recording studios. Game voiceover requires casting native-speaking voice actors appropriate to each character, directing sessions to match game tone and emotional range, matching audio to character animations or lip-sync where applicable, and delivering audio in the correct format for the game engine. Full voiced RPGs and AAA titles require substantial voiceover budgets.
Game localization costs vary significantly by project scope. Text translation runs $0.10 to $0.20 per source word for major languages. A mid-size RPG with 200,000 words of dialogue might cost $20,000 to $40,000 per language for text alone. Adding LQA, voiceover recording, and project management multiplies that figure. Mobile games with 5,000 to 15,000 words are much more accessible for indie developers.