Character limits, placeholders, variables and where each string appears on screen. Without them a linguist is translating blind, and length and tone defects arrive later as QA tickets instead of earlier as constraints.
Game Localization service
Game Localization Services for text that has to fit the build, not only the language.
Localization of in-game text, dialogue, UI strings, storefront copy, and player-facing content, with string length written to the space it has, in-context review against the build, and terminology held across a title and its updates.
Game localization delivery records show length-aware translation written to the in-game space available, per-title handling rather than one global rule, and independent review across a multi-title catalog.
110,000+
verified language specialists
300+
languages across active service lines
4,500+
dialects and regional variants
110+
rare and indigenous language pairs
1,000+
brands served since 2015
Build board
What a game localization job has to settle before the strings go out.
A game string can be a correct translation and still ship a broken build. These four are what separate a localized game from a translated spreadsheet, and all four are decided before production rather than during certification.
A glossary and a character bible held across the title and its updates, so a term or a tone does not change between the launch build and a seasonal patch in a way the player can see.
Which markets, on which platforms, and what each storefront or platform holder requires. Age rating, cultural content rules and storefront copy are part of the release, not an afterthought.
Localization QA inside the game rather than in the file, because overflow, truncation, clipped audio and a line that reads wrongly in context are invisible in a spreadsheet.
Length-aware translationOne glossary and character voice per titleLQA on the build, not the file
Scope dossier
Game Localization service fit Game localization delivery records show length-aware translation written to the in-game space available, per-title handling rather than one global rule, and independent review across a multi-title catalog.- Typical inputs
- String and resource files in their native format, character limits per string or per UI element, build access or screenshots for context, a glossary and character bible where one exists, the target locales and platforms, and the certification or release date
- Controls
- Length-aware translation against the space each string has, placeholder, variable, and tag validation, in-context review against the build, glossary and character-voice control across the title, native linguistic review, and a correction lane inside the sprint
- Best fit
- Game localization services for launch and sim-ship windows, live-ops and seasonal content, UI and menu strings, narrative and dialogue, storefront and marketing assets, and localization QA on builds translated elsewhere
What game localization is
Game localization, explained
Game localization is the adaptation of a game for players in another language and market: in-game text and dialogue, UI and menu strings, storefront and marketing copy, and where a title ships voice, the script that gets recorded. It is broader than translating a string list, because a game string has to fit a space as well as carry a meaning — every language expands or contracts differently, so a menu label that sits comfortably in English overflows a button in one locale and leaves an empty gap in another. The work also has to preserve everything in the file that is not prose: placeholders, variables, markup, and the tags that assemble a sentence at runtime. A game localization job is defined by the locale list and the platforms, the split between UI strings, narrative, and marketing copy, the character limits and screen context supplied with the strings, whether voice recording and localization QA on the build are in scope, and the certification or release date the schedule runs to. MoniSa localizes games across 300+ languages and 4,500+ dialects, writes to the string constraints supplied with the set, holds a glossary and character voice across a title and its updates, and operates under ISO 9001, ISO 27001, and ISO 17100 certification, which covers translation services.
Service signal
Pick the service by the result at risk.
Buyers can see the result, review depth, and file-shape fit before they compare vendors line by line.
When to use it
When a translated string is correct and still breaks the game, because it overflows a button, misses a placeholder, or reads nothing like the character saying it.
Strongest fit
Game localization services for launch and sim-ship windows, live-ops and seasonal content, UI and menu strings, narrative and dialogue, storefront and marketing assets, and localization QA on builds translated elsewhere
How the work runs
Glossary, character voice, and string constraints locked against a sample build, then delivery tied to the sprint with in-context review before each release candidate
Formats we handle
TextDocuments, UI, copy
AudioSpeech and voiceover
ImageStills and scans
MetadataTags and taxonomy
Build workflow
A game string is correct only when it also fits the space it has to live in.
Every language expands or contracts differently, so a menu label that fits in English overflows in one locale and looks empty in another. Length is part of the translation brief here, not a defect found later in QA.
Constraints travel with the strings
Character limits, placeholders, variables and tags are supplied with the string set, so a linguist writes to the space available instead of discovering the limit at QA.
Voice and terminology fixed per title
A glossary and a character voice are agreed for the title and held across its updates, because a term or a tone that changes between a launch build and a seasonal patch is visible to the player.
Reviewed inside the build
Fit, placeholders, cultural references and platform-specific issues are checked in the environment where they actually break, and fixes return inside the sprint rather than after it.
Who this is for
Each stakeholder sees their risk.
Buyers need to see when the service fits, what can go wrong, and how review reduces rework.
VP Data Ops
Needs language coverage, throughput, and quality controls for multilingual data.
LSP vendor manager
Needs rare-language capacity without exposing the end client.
Media localization lead
Needs subtitle, dubbing, metadata, and QA workflows to meet a release date.
Specification
Lock the details that decide quality.
Use this table to compare inputs, review model, fit, and output before a buying committee asks.
| Typical inputs | String and resource files in their native format, character limits per string or per UI element, build access or screenshots for context, a glossary and character bible where one exists, the target locales and platforms, and the certification or release date |
|---|---|
| Review path | Length-aware translation against the space each string has, placeholder, variable, and tag validation, in-context review against the build, glossary and character-voice control across the title, native linguistic review, and a correction lane inside the sprint |
| Strongest fit | Game localization services for launch and sim-ship windows, live-ops and seasonal content, UI and menu strings, narrative and dialogue, storefront and marketing assets, and localization QA on builds translated elsewhere |
| How the work runs | Glossary, character voice, and string constraints locked against a sample build, then delivery tied to the sprint with in-context review before each release candidate |
Quality method
Quality starts before the first batch moves.
MoniSa uses a three-layer system: pre-production gates, in-production controls, and post-delivery review.
Screen
Profile review, nativity verification, domain questionnaire, screening call, sample task.
Calibrate
Every assigned team works against the same calibration items before production volume starts.
Pilot
The first batch is reviewed deeply so instruction drift is caught before scale.
Review
Sampling, senior review, agreement checks, and same-day feedback loops run during production.
Escalate
Critical errors trigger pause, recalibration, replacement, or operations-lead escalation.
Learn
Client feedback feeds back into resource profiles, glossary rules, and the next batch.
case evidence
Proof that matches game localization services, not generic language work.
The records below stay close to this delivery model so the proof feels operational, not decorative.
Localization servicesLow-resource localization review corrections controlled across Chuukese and Jamaican Creole evidence.
Localization review recovery
The challenge. An LSP partner needed reviewer feedback turned into global corrections without losing language-specific rules or file readiness.
What we did. MoniSa checked capability and Unicode constraints, triaged reviewer feedback, applied client-workspace global fixes, and confirmed the correction path.
The result. The partner had scoped recovery evidence across a 9,007-word handoff, related 4,734-word scope, global fixes, and an August 10 correction deadline.
Localization servicesA 100+ title game catalogue localized across 7 languages with in-game text kept in place.
Game localization at title scale
Problem. A games program needed 100+ titles in 7 languages without translated text breaking fixed UI layouts.
Action. MoniSa localized each title to its in-game space, managing text expansion and contraction per title.
Result. More than 100 titles localized across 7 languages with menus, buttons, and dialogue intact.
Localization servicesSix-year multilingual localization held to one standard, client details confidential.
Social platform localization
Problem. A leading social platform needed continuous localization across 21 languages without quality drifting over years of rolling work.
Action. MoniSa ran dedicated language pods with reviewer continuity and a single standing QA path across the full term.
Result. The platform held 4,000,000+ words across 21 languages to one standard over six continuous years.
Localization servicesA three-and-a-half-year continuous e-commerce account held with follow-the-sun coverage.
Continuous e-commerce localization
Problem. An online retail platform auto-reassigned idle files, so any coverage gap risked losing work mid-stream.
Action. MoniSa ran a follow-the-sun model with steady per-language teams across Dutch, French, and Tamil.
Result. 500,000 words across three languages over three and a half years, without losing files to reassignment.
Related launch paths
Decide what else ships with the localized build.
A localized title usually needs more than its string set: storefront copy, recorded voice, timed text for cinematics, and a wider market plan. Use the routes below to scope the rest.
Gaming and entertainment
See how localization fits a launch window, live-ops cadence, and storefront delivery across markets.
Localization services overview
Return to the wider localization program across product, web, learning, and commerce surfaces.
Multimedia services
Add voiceover, dubbing support, and media QA when a title ships recorded audio.
Subtitling services
Add timed text for cinematics and trailers, produced to the platform specification.
Language and dialect coverage
Check dialect, script, and regional coverage before a locale is committed to a release date.
Buyer questions
Ask the questions weak vendors avoid.
Short answers for buyers checking fit, coverage, quality method, and next-step readiness.
How much does it cost to localize a game?
Game localization is quoted per title rather than from a published rate, because the word count is usually the smallest part of the figure. What moves it is the locale list and how many qualified game linguists work in each, the split between UI strings, narrative and marketing copy, whether the strings arrive with character limits and screen context or as a bare spreadsheet, whether voice recording is in scope, how many rounds of in-context review the build allows, and how much live-ops content follows the launch. Ask for the quote separated into translation, in-context review, and any audio or engineering work, so a low headline rate that excludes review is visible as what it is.
What are the top game localization agencies?
A ranked list is the wrong instrument here, because the right partner for a narrative-heavy console title is not the right partner for a live-ops mobile game shipping content every week. Judge candidates on what decides quality for your title: delivery evidence in your exact locales rather than a language count, linguists who know the genre, whether they work from build context or from a spreadsheet, how string-length constraints are handled, terminology and character-voice control across updates, localization QA on a real build, and how fast a defect found at certification is turned around. MoniSa localizes games across 300+ languages and 4,500+ dialects, writes to the string constraints supplied with the set, and operates under ISO 9001, ISO 27001, and ISO 17100 certification, which covers translation services.
How much do game localizers make?
There is no single figure, and a published average describes a market rather than a role. Earnings move with the language pair and how many qualified game linguists work in it, whether the work is UI strings, narrative, or localization QA on a build, the platform and genre, the schedule, and whether the engagement is one title or a continuing live-ops relationship. MoniSa contracts game linguists per project on terms agreed with the linguist and publishes no rate bands.
What does game localization include beyond translating the text?
Text is the input; a build that still works is the deliverable. The work covers UI and menu strings written to the character space each element has, narrative and dialogue kept in the character’s voice rather than rendered literally, placeholders, variables and markup preserved exactly, culturally specific references adapted where a literal rendering would confuse or offend, storefront and marketing copy per market, and localization QA against a real build to catch overflow, truncation, clipped audio and strings that read correctly in a spreadsheet and wrongly on screen. Where a title ships voice, script adaptation for recording and timing sits alongside the text work.
What does MoniSa need before quoting a game localization project?
The string and resource files in their native format, the target locales and platforms, character limits per string or per UI element, build access or screenshots for context, any existing glossary or character bible, whether voice recording is in scope, whether localization QA is wanted on the build, and the certification or release date. With those, the answer is feasibility and a defined quote, with a pilot string set available to prove the fit before full volume.
Build brief
Send the strings with their constraints attached.
A useful first brief for game localization names the locales and platforms, the character limits each string has to live inside, how context reaches the linguist, and whether voice and localization QA are in scope.
Production-ready brief
01String and resource files in their native format02Target locales and platforms03Character limits per string or UI element04Build access or screenshots for context05Existing glossary or character bible06Voice recording and build LQA scope, and the release dateCapability at a glance
The answers most briefs open by asking for.
Buyers rarely start with who we are. They start with a list of fields to fill. Here are ours, so the first email can be about the work instead.
- Languages and locales
- 300+ languages and 4,500+ dialects, quoted per locale rather than per language — because the dialect decides whether a dataset is usable, whether a market accepts a release, and which specialist the work goes to.
- Specialist network
- 110,000+ verified language specialists — linguists, annotators, and reviewers — plus voice talent and subtitlers, matched to the language, domain and task before assignment.
- Capacity and mobilisation
- Named availability confirmed per pair before scoping. Coverage is reported as staffed today or needing a recruitment window, in writing, before a launch date or release window is agreed.
- Sourcing constraints
- Specialists can be sourced against geographic, residency, locale and demographic requirements — including native-only, in-country, and speaker-diversity quotas where a data programme demands them.
- Deliverables and specs
- Work is delivered to the receiving specification: structured formats and schemas for data and annotation work, and timed-text, audio and platform conformance for media — subtitle reading speed, line limits, cue timing, channel and sample-rate requirements included.
- Comparable work
- 62 documented case studies stating the scope, the constraint that made it difficult, and the measured result — across AI data programmes, partner overflow, and media releases. 2,000+ AI projects delivered and 1,000+ brands served since 2015.
- Certifications
- ISO 9001:2015 quality management, ISO 27001:2022 information security, and ISO 17100 translation services — scoped to translation specifically, and stated that way rather than implied across every line.
- Commercial basis
- Quoted in the unit the work is measured in — per word, per audio hour, per approved hour, per finished minute, per batch, per item — with what the unit includes stated alongside it, whether the quote is for you or for a client you quote onward.
Need this against your own template? Convert your scope between units and check the deadline, then send the brief with your language list, content type, volume and deadline, and the acceptance criteria you will judge the output against — those four decide feasibility, and the reply addresses them directly.