The gaming industry shot up in worth during the pandemic. With people stuck at home, they turn to games to quench their boredom. In 2022, the gaming industry is now worth $300 billion, a huge jump from the $198.40 billion value in 2021. This shows that the gaming industry will always increase per year as long as good and high quality games are released. In order to produce this, companies need accurate video game localization to reach their maximum potential users.

What is Video Game Localization?

Video game localization is the process of building a product to suit a specific locality. Accurate and good quality video game localization is crucial in trying to reach into big gaming markets such as China, Japan, Germany, and South Korea.

The process of localization begins with the translators. The translators play the crucial role of bridging the gaps between two languages. Translating and localizing a video game is a skill on its own. With developers’ intricate world-building, lore and original languages within the game, expert translators must be well-versed in the game and in video game localization.

2022 Best Practices for Game Localization

Be mindful of the cultural differences

The purpose of localization is to appropriate the game into the target locality’s language. The reason why localization is effective in targeting new players is because they tend to try new games if it is in their native language. Of course, there is no one size fits all approach in developing a game. One culture’s practice may not be appropriate for another that is why localization must be applied. 

Familiarity of the game

Translators must be well-versed in the project. A glossary of terms and style guide eases the translation process. A translator that is familiar with the project will easily understand how to best translate the game to suit the overall storyline and world-building. A translator will have their own target language glossary and style guide, they will use this and the developer’s source language glossary to translate and localize the game. Without familiarity, the translator cannot deliver consistent work. 

Localize your images

Some images and multimedia may not be applicable to the target language, thus, the best solution is to localize it as well. It creates a much more cohesive gameplay as well as increases user immersion while playing the game.  

Make your text flexible

As a developer, your source language must be coded with flexibility to cater to the target languages. Different languages mean different lengths and characters used for translation. Some languages take up more space than others. As an example, English is a much more concise language than German or French that takes up 30% more space than English. Developers must anticipate that while planning the localization and build of the game.

Native game translator experts

Expert linguists and native game translators will be the best to turn to when looking for quality and accurate translation and game localization. Well-versed translators that have experience in game translation and localization will have a much better chance at providing high-quality services. It is not enough to be a good translator, because game translation is a specialty in itself. Game translation and localization requires a translator that is a gamer. CCC has a team of expert game translators partnered up with native translators to provide high-quality translations and localization for your game project.

Test your game

Developers must always test their games. After each localization project, quality assurance must be performed through thorough checking. Never risk skipping this step of the process. With hundreds and thousands of game releases per year, one small step might be the cause of the project’s failure.

Choose Quality Game Localization

CREATIVE CONNECTIONS & COMMONS INC. offers high-quality and accurate video game localization services in over 30 languages worldwide. Build your game project and leave the localization to us! We guarantee successful localization and will be involved in every step of the process.