One of the most successful industries of recent times, which is reportedly worth 138 billion dollars, is the global ever-growing game industry. As a result, the game localization sub-sector accounts for 1.38 billion dollars, which is around % of the game industry’s total value.
The game industry ridiculously boomed in 2020 due to the Corona Virus global outbreak that forced the entire world to stay home and compromise our time outside. This study reports that engagement on Twitch, a platform to watch people play games in real-time, jumped by 83%, since Americans spent 26% more time playing video games, and the total amounts of money spent on video games increased by 33% in 2020.
As the market grew larger, developers needed to keep up with the process of game localization and meet global market needs. This brings us to our next questions, why game localization? And what are the entities that provide game localization services?
Game Localization: A Brief Guide
For starters, game localization is the process of customizing a game for players living in different areas of the world so that they feel as if it were made particularly for their own region/area. It may sound like a simple task that could be done in a couple of hours, but in fact, it is actually one of the lengthiest and most complex processes. Game localization can be separated into 2 parts: in-game translation and technical tasks. In-game translation includes the actual written or spoken content inside the game itself. On the other hand, technical tasks include but are not limited to, strings from the game’s code and transmitting them to a translation management system for complex technical purposes.
For a game to get localized properly, it demands a diverse set of skills. Developers or professional storytellers /writers may be the ones to compose in-game text, dialogues, everything content-related in a game. Although this part of game development requires high-level expertise, it is probably the first task to get checked out of a long checklist, leaving the development and game publishing the last to be checked out. Linguistic professionals must be familiar with game narratives, their mechanics, and acquire the related specialized linguistic skills. Even though it may sound unrealistic, but game localization is followed by software, technical, literary, and marketing translations.
Do I have to localize my game?
Well, if you are not looking for a connection with audiences from all different cultures and regions, then the answer will be “no”, you do not have to localize your game.
But if you are looking to have a mass audience and an internationally successful game that is played for hours, then start your game localization process. Localizing your game will lead to:
- More game purchases/downloads.
- Better revenue.
- Higher game ranking.
- Gamers’ pleasure for playing a game they can relate to.
Not only do you want to reach people overseas and build fame for your game, but competition is getting tougher by the minute and you need to stay competitive. In addition, your game will be awkward among other localized games by staying stuck to only one version? This will not get you anywhere, and will only cause gamers around the world to judge you harshly.
Where do you should go to get Game Localization services?
As mentioned above, game localization requires a lot more than any other type of translation. It needs an agency that provides superb game localization services. The number of people who get involved in the process is insanely great. Thus, choosing the right video game localization agency that offers professional localization services is crucial for your game. When it is time to choose a video game localization agency, make sure to question them about their game translation experience, as well as the languages they often work with. Keep in mind that localization expertise is equally as important as linguistic knowledge for the game localization process. You should look for an agency that has a record of professional and high-quality game localization tasks.
Here are some pros to hiring a professional video game localization agency:
- Whenever needed, you are open to 24/7 expert guidance on anything from language to cultural norms will be available.
- You will be working with an experienced localization team.
- The video game localization agency will know exactly what to do if faced with any obstacles or errors.
So, if you have goals for your game to be internationally sold, you can talk to our game localization expert team by clicking get a quote.