Get the leading AI engine for video game localization
Inworld's AI engine helps localize your content with cultural and language localization through AI NPCs and multi-lingual text-to-speech models with gaming-native voices.
Game localization with AI NPCs: Using AI NPCs in your games allows for simple video game localization. Easily shift your game's language and the cultural references.
Game translation: Record new dialogue in multiple languages using our expressive text-to-speech models with voices designed explicitly for video games.
Cultural localization: Beyond language, adapt the cultural nuances in your game including humor, idioms, and references to resonate with your target market.
AI for video game localization
Why use AI for video game localization?
Follow best practices: While many studios focus solely on translation for video game localization, cultural localization is just as important. Inworld's AI NPCs are able to shift both the language and content of your game.
High quality AI voices: Inworld's AI voices are expressive and realistic – and designed for real-time interactions in video games.
Cost-effective: AI localization can dramatically reduce costs compared to traditional methods, enabling more languages with less budget.
AI for video game translation
Why use AI for video game translation?
Faster game translation: We help speed up all aspects of translation – including recording and exporting voices.
Record and export voices: Inworld allows you to record and export voices in multiple languages including Mandarin, Japanese, and Korean.
Expressive voices: Unlike other TTS models, Inworld's voices are designed to be expressive and sound natural in game environments.
Inworld difference
The best API localization solution
High quality text-to-speech: We developed a novel benchmark for measuring audio quality and expressiveness across five categories: expressiveness, prosody, generation accuracy, talking speed, and speaker similarity.
Low latency: Inworld Voice 250ms end-to-end 50th percentile latency. That’s faster than many competitors.
Gaming-native: Built from the ground up for interactive entertainment, not repurposed from generic TTS.
Benefits of AI game localization
Reach a broader audience: Expand your audience by engaging international gamers.
Customize content regionally: Create customized content for each international region to optimize your success based on what types of games perform well there.
Respond to fan interests: Change your characters’ personalities based on the preferences of fans in different markets.
Reduce costs: AI localization can cut localization budgets by tens of thousands of dollars compared to traditional methods.
Frequently asked questions
Localization in video games is the process of adapting a game to different languages, cultures, and regions to make it accessible and appealing to players worldwide. This process goes beyond mere translation of text and involves modifying various elements such as graphics, audio, and gameplay mechanics to align with cultural norms and preferences.
The importance of localization in video games cannot be overstated since it significantly impacts a game's success in international markets. By effectively localizing a game, developers can reach a broader audience, increasing their potential customer base and revenue.
Localizing a video game involves a series of steps designed to adapt the game to different languages and cultures while maintaining its core experience. The traditional localization process begins with the preparation phase where developers identify all the elements needing localization.
With AI localization, studios can use two methods: localizing through AI NPCs or localizing through recorded dialogue. Once the initial localization work is complete, rigorous testing is essential to ensure quality and accuracy.
The time it takes to localize a game can vary significantly depending on several factors including the game's size, complexity, and the number of languages involved. For a small indie game, the traditional localization process might take a few weeks, while a large AAA title could require several months to a year.
With AI localization, the localization timeline can be significantly reduced for both indie games and AAA titles by allowing developers to set up the content pipeline once and then generate content in multiple languages.
The cost of localizing a video game can vary widely depending on several key factors such as the game's size, complexity, and the number of languages targeted. For smaller indie games, traditional localization methods might cost a few thousand dollars, while large AAA games can see costs running into hundreds of thousands or even millions.
AI game localization greatly reduces localization costs. Indie studios can spend several hundred dollars rather than thousands, with AAA games potentially reducing their localization budgets by tens of thousands of dollars.
If your goal is to reach a global audience and increase your game's market potential, localization is a strategic choice that can significantly enhance your reach and revenue. Localizing your game allows you to tap into new markets by making it accessible and appealing to players who speak different languages.
The benefits of localizing your game are substantial. By adapting your game to different languages and cultures, you improve its appeal and accessibility, increase your player base, and enhance player satisfaction.
The primary purpose of localizing a game is to make it accessible and enjoyable for players across different languages and cultures in order to expand its reach to a global audience. Localization involves not only translating text but also adapting cultural references, graphics, and audio to align with local customs and preferences.
Translation refers specifically to converting the text and dialogue of a game from one language to another. Localization, on the other hand, includes translation but goes beyond it by adapting the game to suit cultural contexts and preferences.
Localization is crucial because it not only makes a game understandable but also culturally relevant and engaging to deliver a seamless and immersive experience for players in different regions.
The main advantage of localizing video games is the expansion of the game's potential market. Localization also enhances the player experience by ensuring that the game's content is culturally relevant and engaging.
However, the process can be expensive and time-consuming – especially for complex games or when localizing into multiple languages. AI game localization is one way to get both language and cultural localization in a more cost-efficient way.
Game localization is important because it allows developers to reach a global audience by making their games accessible and enjoyable for players from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds.
Localization also contributes to a game’s long-term success by building brand loyalty and enhancing its reputation since players appreciate the effort to provide a culturally relevant experience.