Effective game localisation is far more than a word-for-word translation of your scripts. It is the process of transforming every element of your game, text, audio, imagery, and cultural references, so that players in every target market experience it as if it were built specifically for them. At 1Stop Translations, our specialist game localisation services combine deep technical expertise with genuine passion for the medium.
Game localisation (also known as Game L10n) is the comprehensive adaptation of a video game for a specific locale or group of locales. This goes beyond translation to include cultural adaptation, reformatting of dates and currencies, modification of UI elements, audio re-recording, and quality testing, all coordinated to produce a seamless native experience.
We follow a structured, transparent end-to-end game localisation workflow that keeps your project on schedule and your team informed at every stage. Our process begins with a project kick-off and asset audit, progresses through translation, cultural review, and engineering integration, and concludes with comprehensive LQA testing in the target language on the target platform.
Cultural adaptation is where game localisation truly separates itself from standard translation. Humour, idioms, character names, historical references, and visual symbols all carry different meanings across cultures. Our gaming linguists are trained to identify and adapt these elements so that your narrative, world-building, and tone land authentically in every market.
We work directly with the most common game development environments and file formats, including Unity, Unreal Engine, Ren’Py, and custom pipelines. Our technical localisation team handles XML, JSON, CSV, XLIFF, PO files, and bespoke formats, ensuring that the integration of translated content is smooth and error-free. We also manage font expansion, text overflow, and right-to-left (RTL) language support.
Simultaneous global launches (SimShip) require coordinated multilingual localisation across multiple language pairs, with all content delivered in parallel. Our project management infrastructure supports large-scale simultaneous delivery across multiple locales without compromising quality. We have experience managing FIGS, CJKT, and emerging-market language packs within a single pipeline.
Our linguists are not generalists who happen to translate games, they are specialist gaming translators who understand genre vocabulary, player psychology, and the conventions of different gaming categories, from RPGs and action-adventure titles to mobile games, sports simulations, and strategy titles. This expertise results in translations that feel natural and immersive rather than wooden and literal.
Whether you need a fully managed outsourced game translation service or a specialist team to augment your in-house localisation capability, we offer flexible engagement models. We can integrate with your TMS, CAT tools, or version control system, and we adhere to your style guide and glossary from day one.
We localise games for PC, console (PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch), mobile (iOS and Android), VR/AR, and browser-based platforms. Our game globalisation experts understand the specific requirements, character limits, and certification guidelines of each platform, helping you pass platform review on the first attempt.
