Video game localization is an indispensable element in the development of gamer projects. The profitability of the sector's top markets is a great opportunity to internationalize your product in a sector that continues to grow year after year.
Video game localization for a growing sector
The video game market is one of the least affected by the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even the shortage of software supplies that arose with the revival of world markets has not affected the gamer industry as much as anticipated.
During 2020 and 2021, the industry experienced a dramatic rise in sales globally, as confinements and mobility bans led to mass consumption of video games.
After this boom, the industry feared that the lack of supplies and the resulting delay in the launch of new titles would be an obstacle to matching these figures. However, the third quarter of 2021 confirmed that growth was continuing.
The numbers prove it. According to the video game market study from Statista Digital Market Outlook, the sector had approximately $156 billion in global revenue in 2021 and the forecast for 2022 is in excess of $175 billion.
Why is video game localization essential?
The analysis of the sector reveals two main characteristics:
- Globally, video games for mobile devices are the most in demand and account for approximately 70% of total revenue. This percentage increases in some Latin American countries such as Argentina and, above all, in China, where it reaches 84%.
- China is by far the largest consumer of video games. Of the total revenue expected in 2022, more than $55 billion will be generated in the Asian giant.
These are the five most important markets in the sector:
- China.
- United States.
- Japan.
- South Korea.
- United Kingdom.
Half of all global video game industry revenue in 2021 came from the Asia-Pacific region. The mobile gaming market accounted for 52% of the total.
The most demanded languages in the gamer sector
Given the figures and the markets that generate them, it is easy to decide which are the most profitable languages to request from a video game localization agency.
These languages lead the video game translation rankings:
- Mandarin Chinese. An indispensable language today in this sector and in the rest of the economic sectors.
- English. Here, it is important to highlight the differences between British English and American English.
- Japanese. The language of the land of the rising sun is another must.
- Korean. Asia’s fourth-largest economy grew by 4% in 2021, the highest figure in eleven years, making it an increasingly interesting market for companies.
- Spanish. The Latin American market is a large consumer of video games. Mexico is the tenth largest global market in terms of number of consumers and the largest in Latin America.
Not surprisingly, video game and software localization services are among the most in-demand. With more than 3 billion players, video game translation is a must for developers.
Video game localization companies take care of all the necessary processes, from linguistic and cultural adaptation to software localization. It is a complex task that must be completed by native translators who are specialized in the sector.
At Linguaserve, we are experts in video game localization, and we have the human and technological resources necessary to take your project to an international level.
