Level Up Your Game with Expert Video Game Localizers at OneSky

Gaming has taken on an entirely new dimension in the post-pandemic era and is projected to generate $187.7 billion in 2023 alone. If you’re wondering about the secret to this type of exponential growth, don’t worry—we’ve got you covered. 

More companies are starting to embrace video game localization concepts throughout the course of the development and marketing process. Formats, languages, messaging, and marketing, in this context, can all be aligned to reach your target audience in alignment with their own preferences. With a solid localization process in place, consumers can receive additional benefits that appeal to and resonate with them on both a conscious and subconscious level. 

This not only promotes the product and prompts a sale—it actually builds lifelong brand recognition and loyalty over time in specific regions and target market(s). 

Below, we’re exploring what video game localization is, how creators and devs can benefit, and possible challenges and solutions to consider as you build out your video game localization strategy. 

Video Game Localization – Beyond Just Translation

The amount of work that goes into perfecting a high-quality PC, console, or mobile game is immense. However, taking the time to perfect your content using game localization services and tools can have a powerful effect on your bottom line and brand authority. 

This step is necessary, as cultural references, preferences, and lingual intricacies can easily be missed using a blunt translation process. The final product, with the presence or absence of this step alone, can be less optimized at best and possibly problematic at worst. 

If you’re embracing a comprehensive video game localization process, you’ll want to explore every single element of the user experience—from dialogues to UI and marketing outreach. 

Linguists, cultural experts, and specialists can work together to make the best product and campaign possible for the most possible benefit. 

Benefits of Localizing Your Game with OneSky

Your final product will only be as good as the video game translation and localization tools you use to prepare it to market well around the world. Game content can take on a life of its own once it’s translated into different languages (such as German, Chinese, French, and Japanese)—and you want to make sure that your original storyline is preserved and marketed well for the gaming market you’re targeting. For example: What looks and sounds great in English could be offensive if not properly translated or marketed in places such as China or Japan. 

OneSky uniquely understands this and has created a comprehensive cloud-based translation management system and localization support network to suit your needs. This format is specifically designed to speed up the localization process across 50+ available languages—ensuring the most possible benefit in your consumer’s gaming experience around the world. 

When you work with OneSky, you’ll enjoy access to: 

• Workflow integration: Integration is key to a successful end-to-end localization process that’s autonomous yet flexible enough to perfect your game and rollout. Our platform offers direct iOS and Android integration and is incredibly intuitive for maximum ease of use across team members. 

• Centralized communication: Efficiency is found where centralization techniques are implemented—and this concept doesn’t change when it comes to perfecting and localizing your gameplay. OneSky’s platform gives teams a single, central point of all communications and management steps to ensure no detail is missed. 
• Extensive quality assurance support: Expert translation support and project management assistance, on-device testing and more prepare your game for maximum impact in your new market of choice. 

No other service in the game localization industry offers the same level of care, intention or skill that OneSky does. From website localization to finalizing gameplay or game text for a new market, we’re here to help. 

Image Source

Challenges in Game Localization

Before you begin to localize your content, it’s important to take a look at current challenges you might encounter in the process. These can include concerns that affect your specific steps or the video game industry as a whole. Taking the time to identify these will help you have a more streamlined and comprehensive experience going forward—and can directly impact your profitability and success in the rollout.

Here are some of the most common areas of concern to keep in mind as you work on your game and website localization strategy: 

Keeping it consistent 

Your game has a specific essence and flow that you, if you’ve gotten to the point of mass production, have managed to capture in your language or origin. Keeping this intangible element of the game consistent across international rollouts (such as you’d see in Canada, Europe, Spain, or other places) can be difficult without the right system in place. 

It’s more than choosing a target language and starting the voice-over process. Consistency must extend to every single element of the game’s localization process—from imagery to storyline to subtitling. 

Direct translation 

While this may seem similar to our note on consistency above, we want to take it a step further—noting that nuance can change even when direct translation is used. Languages can often have dialect-specific slang or phrases that may not be found in your game’s origin language. A skilled translator can determine which would be most appropriate and comfortable for your prospect to see and insert those as appropriate to preserve your game’s original intent. 

Cultural sensitivity 

Certain cultures may have preference in presentation for a variety of gaming elements. These can include depictions of family, violence, sexuality, and certain elements of many common storylines. Keeping cultural sensitivity in mind as you work through the different steps of the refinement process is key to sustaining long-term positive brand perception. 

How OneSky Conquers These Challenges

Beyond the benefits listed above, OneSky has proven failsafes in place to help creators preemptively overcome challenges related to localization. For example: 

• We actively collaborate with developers. While this process can take extra resources and time using traditional systems, we make it an essential point in our process and absorb any related costs—ensuring that the heart of the game is kept in its entirety and refined for acceptance across your audience groups. 

• We hire native translators. Many of our translators are hired for their expertise in their native tongue, ensuring that you walk away with the most authentic and natural translations possible. 
• We offer multiple touchpoints of review. It’s not done until it’s, well, done. The question is—who determines when that happens? The answer to this can look different in every specific case. That’s why we work with developers on an ongoing basis to make sure that everything you produce is perfect for your needs. 

Take Your Game to Players Worldwide with OneSky

The game industry has grown exponentially in the post-pandemic era—and up-and-coming developers and creators can take advantage of this growth to promote their own projects. Localization is key to proper marketing and refinement, helping your content to make the highest level of impact possible on your target audience.

Investing in a product or service like OneSky offers you the benefit of efficiency, centralization, collaboration, and a higher-quality overall end-product for your investment. OneSky’s professional translators and translation management platform is here to help with your localization needs—visit us online today to start for free.