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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
TEAM & PHILOSOPHY
Absolutely! We are all native speakers and translate only into our respective native tongue.
Everyone working as a translator for Level Up Translation has signed a contract prohibiting the use of AI for translation purposes. We do use CAT tools such as MemoQ or SmartCAT to help us keep things tidy and consistent, but all our translations are and will always be 100% human.
A lot! We have been helping games go global since 2011 and have localized more than 500 games since.
On average, our team members have 14 years of experience in the games industry working as game translators, but also as localization QA testers, team leaders, or even indie devs.
More information about our team's experience is available in the Guild section.
Our team is made up of freelance game translators working remotely from all over the world and various time zones. Our headquarters and project manager are located in green, grassy Normandy, France (CET).
This big: 1 project manager, 1 graphic designer, a regular pool of 20–25 translators for the 13 most common languages (French, Italian, German, Spanish, Dutch, Russian, Polish, Turkish, Brazilian Portuguese, simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean).
All languages included, our team comprises about 80 members.
Level Up Translation was created by a former game translator to deliver high-quality, context-proof and experience-rich translations that meet our industry’s standards as well as gamers’ expectations.
This can only be achieved by working with highly experienced people, which obviously comes at a cost.
Consequently, fair rates and ideal working conditions lie at the core of our philosophy. No peanuts for our translators!
We take pride in our work, and we believe the people who help bring your game to new players deserve to be credited. We’ll provide you with the full list of translators who worked on your project. Thanks for including them in your credits!
PLANNING YOUR LOCALIZATION
Our blog is full of them! From game localization case studies, to market insights, developer interviews or checklists, you’re sure to find helpful information there.
Why not start with these popular posts? Some of them have even been featured on Gamasutra or Gamedev.net!
Game Translation Fails And How To Avoid Them
How To Create A Perfect Game Localization Kit
How To Write A Kickass Game Description
A Guide To DIY Market Research For Indie Game Devs
7 Tips For Localizing Your Indie Game With Unity
Here, you can find an example of what a typical game localization spreadsheet looks like.
The earlier, the better! Ideally, localization should be part of your game development process from the early concept stage.
Thinking about localization early helps you avoid many common issues: hard-coded text, UI boxes that cannot handle longer translations, missing fonts or special characters, variables that break in other languages, visuals that also need translating, or text that lacks the context translators need to make the right choices.
As we explain in our localization best practices, leaving localization until the game is almost finished often creates extra work that could have been avoided with a little planning. In some cases, it can even make certain parts of your game difficult — or impossible — to localize properly without reworking the code or UI.
Check out the following posts for more tips:
Is Your Game Ready for Localization?
9 Steps to Easier, Cheaper and Faster Game LocalizationGame Translation Fails — Common Causes and How to Avoid Them
How To Save On Game Localization
Good things take time; so too does game localization.
On average, a professional translator can deliver 1,500–2,000 words of high-quality translation per day.
We know from experience that asking for a higher daily output is detrimental to translation quality. Because we value quality over quantity, 2,000 words per day is the maximum we ask from our team.
If you need your game localized faster though, we can assign a second translator to your project to double up the speed. In this case, we also employ the skills of an editor to ensure the fluidity and consistency of the translation throughout the whole game.
The right languages depend on your platform, genre, target audience, budget, monetization model, wishlists, community, and the markets where your type of game is most likely to perform. A PC game, console game and mobile game may not have the same localization priorities.
Check out our Market Research Guide For Indie DevsOther useful resources:
What Languages to Localize Your Mobile Game Into
What Languages to Localize Your PC Game Into
What Languages to Localize Your Console Game Into
What Languages to Localize Your Steam Game Into
Although our translation tools allow us to work with pretty much any file format, spreadsheets are by far the most commonly used by game developers/board game creators. They’re also the most practical for us to work with.
Here, you can find an example of what a typical game localization spreadsheet looks like.
To prepare a quote, we usually need your source word count, target languages, deadline, type of content, platform, file format and whether you need extra services such as editing. A build, gameplay video, Steam page or short project brief are also very helpful.
Game translation is about converting your text into another language. Game localization goes further: it makes sure the whole experience feels natural to players in their own language. That means adapting tone, terminology, jokes, UI strings, character voices, cultural references and sometimes even tiny details that only make sense once you understand the game. In short: translation makes the text understandable; localization makes the game feel like it was written for the player.
SERVICES
We currently support 26 languages: French, Canadian French, Italian, German, Spanish, Latin American Spanish, Russian, Polish, Dutch, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese, Turkish, simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Czech, Greek, Hungarian, Slovene, Arabic and Indonesian.
Yes! We can localize marketplace descriptions, screenshot and trailer captions, metadata, keywords, websites, press kits, packaging, ads, and pretty much any marketing content for games and apps.
Yes. We localize board game rulebooks, cards, player aids, boards and related material, including promotional content.
Yes. Games evolve, and localization often evolves with them. We help with updates, DLC, patches, store-page changes, new quests, new cards, new events or any other post-launch content on a dailybasis. Translation memories and term bases also help us keep new content consistent with what was already delivered, saving time and avoiding terminology chaos.
Sure. Dark humor, mature themes, horror, history, politics, romance, cultural references and sensitive topics all require careful handling. We’ll ask questions when something needs clarification and adapt the text so it respects both your intent and the expectations of local players.
We ask questions, use reference material, keep track of terminology and adapt the wording so it feels natural to players while staying faithful to the original intent. We don’t just translate strings. We keep the soul of the game intact.
See how we did that for Ghost Of A Tale.
Sure! That's precisely what we did for the indie game A Room Beyond, and many other projects.
We will run your translations by our team first in order to assess how much work is needed and will determine which solution would work best.
For each language, we usually assign only one translator, so the style stays coherent and the translators build a real connection with the game. We also use CAT tools, translation memories, term bases, style guides and Q&A sheets to keep terminology, character voices and recurring strings under control.
Yes. We regularly work on unreleased games, confidential builds, internal documents and surprise announcements that absolutely must stay under wraps. Send us your NDA and we’ll sign it before getting started.
PRICING & PAYMENT
The rate per word is based on the total source word count and depends on several factors such as the language pair, the type of game, the platform and the deadline.
Recommended read: How Much Does Game Localization Cost?
Get in touch with us if you want a free and non-binding estimate.
We believe this standard – which is mainly drawn from the automotive and technical translation industry, which are more prone to redundancy – is not really relevant to game localization because of its creative nature and the prime importance of context in translation.
An obvious example to illustrate this would be the endless possible translations of words as trivial as "play" in Polish, depending on the context in which it’s used.
Additionally, Latin languages, such as French, Italian and Spanish, are not so flexible with word redundancy as English.
Some repeated iterations of a sentence in English may need a completely different translation depending on the context, or who the subject/speaker is (gender, singular/plural issues, formal/informal way of address).
Even if the context is the same, the translation may have to be changed for stylistic reasons. There is afterthought involved in the process, which entails work that cannot be done free of charge.
For these reasons, we will only agree to discount repetitions if you can confirm they are 100% used in the very same context.
Our minimum project management fee is €50.00, which is aimed at covering the time spent preparing your project’s files, brief and delivery.
We do not charge any other minimum fee. For instance, a 5-word localization job will cost you 5 words x €0.XX for each language + project management.
Level Up Translation SAS being based in France, you can pay us using wire transfer in euros if you’re in the SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area).
For all non-euro/non-SEPA payments, we use WISE.
Got more questions? Let's talk! :)
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