LocalizeDirect localization data revealed the most popular languages in game localization. Most frequently, game developers translated games into German, European French, European Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Italian, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Polish.
These 10 languages accounted for over 80% of the overall word count, from a pool of 45 languages.
Simplified Chinese, widely spoken in mainland China, climbed one percentage point in the overall word count distribution, to 7%, however, it’s still lower compared to its 9% in 2018. For foreign publishers, distribution of their games into China remains a challenging task because of the approval process by the PRC’s General Administration of Press and Publication and the need for the ISBN licenses.
In 2020, only 97 imported games received approval although the situation may slightly improve this year: as of June 2021, 76 foreign games were approved for publishing in China.
Nevertheless, game developers still see Asia as a promising region due to its large population. Vietnamese, Thai, and Malaysian became the fastest growing game localization languages in the past five years, followed by Hindi, Tagalog, and Arabic.
In 2020, altogether, these six languages accounted for over 5% of the total word count pool, compared with 1.4% in 2016.
German, French, Italian, Russian, European Spanish, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese (Taiwan), and Korean were the most frequently ordered languages for LQA in 2020.
More can be found in the 20-page game localization report, available to download.
However, other factors remain the same, such as the fact that language skills will be a significant advantage in this situation. It's a skill that allows me to interact effectively with friends and colleagues all across the world. However, I occasionally utilize Email translation Service purposes because it allows me to get a more precise translation when I communicate. This is particularly important in employment and commercial problems, therefore it has become an indispensable tool for me.