Video game localization guide

There are a number of benefits to localizing your video game. Localization will make some benefits immediately available to you while for others, it may simply open the door to those opportunities. Here are the main reasons indie game developers and game publishers alike look to localize a video game.

Increased visibility

The first reason is marketing. Many game platforms like Apple’s App Store and Steam include localization as a metric in their search results. Put simply, localization increases visibility. A game that’s been localized into a few languages will rank higher than a game with no localization. Similarly, these platforms may require localization into a set list of languages before they include the game in a curated list or on recommended games.

Increased sales

The second reason is international sales. Likely this is any game publishers primary motivation. There are many gamers around the world who are interested in your game — but will not be able to play in English.

Localizing your game will give you access to more markets and more users, but only if you do it right.

Even those who do read English might prefer to play in their native language. They are likely to choose a competing game that is available in their language over yours. In fact, they are more likely to find that competing game because they might filter their search for games in their own language or read only reviews of games in their own language. Catering content to players in other regions will make your game feel more local and convince them that you’re a developer worth their time and money.

Increased legitimacy

The third reason focuses on legitimacy and acclaim. Localization is the starting line for global success. A competent and professional game development studio is expected to localize their games to all the major markets. It’s an unspoken expectation by game enthusiasts, and basic requirement to reach sales goals. Localization affects ratings and visibility in various ways which create the conditions for a game to gain traction globally and reach international acclaim. To put it another way, all those localizations might help your English-language sales climb too.

es, you need to localize your marketing materials, too.

Translating in-game text is only half the battle. You need to make international users aware of your game, understand why they want to buy it, and how to play it. Localizing your game will make it available to new markets, but it’s the marketing material that will convince them to try it out.

— If you don’t translate your marketing materials, it’s like baking a cake without eating it.

There are two main things to consider when localizing your marketing strategy. The first is your actual marketing content such as graphics, ad copy, and app store descriptions. Given that most of this text is creative, you’ll probably start seeing the word transcreation when conducting research and talking to localization vendors. Transcreation is the process of creatively re-writing content in translation. Most marketing copy will need to be adapted and rewritten to match the target market’s tastes. Visuals might need to be reworked and even the specific channels of communication might need to rethought. Which blogs or press outlets do they read in France, for example? Which social networks are active in China?

The second has to do with pricing. This one will apply more to mobile and free-to-play games than any other type. Gaining revenue in markets where the currency has less value than that of your source currency requires adjusting the price of your in-app purchases to match the value of the local currency. If you don’t do this, you are likely to see that users from those markets are spending less — if anything at all — than users in wealthier markets. The difference in currency means that the same offers will provide less value to these users and they’ll see your game as too expensive and not worth engaging.

Some money is better than no money. And good press, fan loyalty, are definitely worth something too. Remember that successful localization brings legitimacy and acclaim to your game and game studio. A positive review in another language could overall boost your entire brand!

So you’ve decided it’s time to localize your game and you have an understanding of how the process will go. From here, choosing the right vendor is the next move in getting started. In fact, it may even be the best way to continue learning about localization.

Pick a vendor that is open, friendly, and helpful when you ask questions. Having a good rapport from the start is super important to ensuring the project goes well. Find someone who is going to care about your game and its future success. Localization vendors that specialize in video game localization should know about the video game industry and will likely play video games themselves.

The best part of working with a localization vendor is being able to consult an expert. The process of finding a vendor will involve back and forth emails with various questions about their services and their prices. This is a great opportunity to voice your doubts about localization or ask specific questions about your game.