It is no secret that the gaming market is growing worldwide and gamers around the world will increasingly want to immerse themselves in games in their own languages. As a result, localization has become essential, and selecting the appropriate languages is crucial.
It’s not just games, but all sorts of global content that need to be flawlessly translated. At Latis Global, we provide professional localization, QA, and GM services. Today, we’d like to present game developers interested in foreign markets with some examples of successful game localization agreed upon by game-related media.
Assassin’s Creed
Assassin’s Creed is a 2007 game created and distributed by French developer Ubisoft. It is a staple of third person stealth action games, recognizable by its impressive visuals and original story.
In Assassin’s Creed the player follows Desmond Miles, who tests a device capable of retrieving his ancestors’ memories through his DNA.
Assassin’s Creed was originally developed in French and English with the European and North American markets in mind. Ubisoft also recognized the importance of the Arabic-speaking market, but the problem was that there are more than 50 dialects of Arabic spoken in different areas. To solve the problem Ubisoft translated Assassin’s Creed into Standard Arabic, which is widely understood by all players in Arabic-speaking countries.
The FIFA Series
FIFA is a soccer game series published each year by EA Sports. The FIFA series is currently translated into 21 languages and dubbed in 12 for the global market. FIFA has been featured in the Guinness World Records as the best selling sports franchise, having earned more than 20 billion dollars in the 20 years since its first launch in 1993.
EA has recently rescinded its nearly 30 years long partnership with FIFA and announced a rebranding. After “FIFA 23” EA will change their name to “EA Sports FC”.
Football Manager
Football Manager is a soccer simulation game developed by British company Sports Interactive and published worldwide.
The player makes a Manager profile, joins a club and strategizes, trains and transfers athletes to achieve the club’s objectives. These change a lot depending on the club’s size, but the heart of the game is in the management of every detail and seeing matches play out according to one’s directions.
Football Manager was developed in the UK but, having recognized the importance of appealing to soccer fans all over the world, it has been localized in 16 languages.
Genshin Impact
Genshin Impact is an open world adventure game developed and launched in 2020 by Studio Hoyoverse (formerly Mihoyo), based in Shanghai. In Genshin the player explores the world, completes quests, and gathers EXP to level up. The game offers adventures, a variety of extensive plots, and a comprehensive character creation system.
Hoyoverse’s passion for Genshin catapulted the game into global success. By 2022 it made 40 billion dollars in sales becoming the most profitable mobile game on the international market. Originally a Chinese game, Genshin is available in 13 languages and with 4 different language voiceovers.
Angry Birds
Angry Birds is a casual puzzle game created by Finnish developer Rovio Entertainment.
The objective of the game is to destroy different structures or hit all the green pigs scattered around by throwing birds at them with a slingshot. As the game progresses, different birds become available.
Thanks to its addicting gameplay, comic style and affordable price, Angry Birds was praised by critics as a successful franchise with great potential for profit.
According to the mobile market intelligence tool AppMagic (https://appmagic.rocks/google-play/angry-birds-2/com.rovio.baba) after its launch in July 2015 Angry Birds earned 580 million dollars in in-app transactions.
63% of Angry Birds game sales were made in the US, 6% in Germany, 5% in the UK, 3% in Canada, and 2% in Korea.
The Best Quality For Your Global Game
On top of the games shown above countless others like Uncharted, World of Warcraft, Last of Us, Final Fantasy, Tomb Raider and Diablo have gripped the gamers of the world through localization.
In order to achieve this level of global success it is necessary to adapt games to the target country in all aspects, from background images to cultural elements to place and character names. The game’s tone, style and user experience also need to be maintained in the process.
This complex operation requires a professional localization company. Contact us at [TEL: +82-70-8270-8500 EMAIL: contact@latisglobal.com] with any queries you may have about game localization and meet our exceptional team.
