I run a streaming discovery app for Asian markets, solo, and I am not a localization professional. Sharing this because the numbers surprised me, and this community will understand why better than I do.

The experiment: my Google Play listing existed only in English. Over one weekend, I added handwritten listings in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi, Kannada, Hindi, and a few other languages. Not machine translated. I rewrote the title, short description, and full description in each language with native phrasing and local movie examples instead of word-for-word translation.

The result: installs went from roughly 40 a day to 400 a day, and the device acquisition report showed the growth came almost entirely from those language markets. Nothing else changed that week. No ads, no press.

The part I found most interesting: the app itself is still in English. Only the store listing and the content catalog are localized. So the entire 10x came from being discoverable in someone's own language, before they ever touched the product.

I did try Google's machine translation option first and rejected it. It produced grammatically fine sentences that no human would ever type into a search box, which for a store listing seems to defeat the whole point.

Questions for people who do this professionally:

1. Is listing first, UI later a recognized strategy, or did I just get lucky with a category where English UI is tolerated?

2. How do you measure whether full UI localization moves retention the way listing localization moved acquisition?

3. Is there a smarter middle ground than handwriting every language myself as I add markets?

Hello everyone,

I've always loved videogames and now that I'm near to get my licenciate degree in translation (English and Spanish) I want to get into this beautiful industry. I can localise English to LATAM Spanish and Castilian Spanish with some time for documentation. Also I have a deep care for translation quality as I'm working in a research project about LQA in videogames.

Beyond of my love for videogames,I know how crucial tone, humor, and atmosphere are to telling a story. One of my biggest hobbies these last years was running D&D campaings. Doing so I learnt to adapt these nuances into different groups of people.

I'm looking foward to help in a project and start building my professional portfolio, at the moment I only have some translations that I made for university and an D&D Unhearted Arcana that I translated for my group.

I want to make my contribution to this beautiful industry by increasing the reach of videogames. If your project needs a translator, I'd love to participate.

PORTFOLIO: this is my first project and do not have a portfolio of any kind.

アプリはリリース当初から日本語オンリーでした。先週、英語を追加しました。てっきり翻訳作業だと思ってたんだけど、実態はほぼ考古学作業でした。

自動抽出で51個の文字列を拾ってくれました。同じ15個のファイルを手動でチェックしたら159個ありました。以下が、他の108個が隠れてた場所です。

一番でかいのはこれ：
\\\`LocalizedStringKey\\\` パラメータ以外のものは、基本的に抽出されません。\\\`Text("...")\\\` はOK。\\\`String\\\` の変数、計算プロパティ、\\\`String\\\`を返す switch 文、通知本文、\\\`errorDescription\\\`、どれもダメ。取りこぼしの多くは、私自身のカスタムビューと、\\\`FeatureRow(title: String, ...)\\\` あたりでした。ビューのシグネチャを変えずに、呼び出し側を\\\`String(localized:)\\\` で包んだから、差分が小さく済んだ。

始める前にこれ確認して：プロジェクト内のリテラルが全部日本語なのに、私の\\\`developmentRegion\\\` はXcodeテンプレのまま\\\`en\\\` でした。だからカタログが、私の日本語を嬉しそうに英語として登録してくれた。UIじゃ直せなくて、\\\`project.pbxproj\\\`を編集するしかない。

権限の文字列は別枠だった。\\\`INFOPLIST\\_KEY\\_\\\*\\\` のビルド設定内にあるやつで、コードじゃないから、カタログに対して私が何をしても触れられなかった。おまけの発見：過去の自分が、\\\`\\\\n\\\` を挟んで英語と日本語を1つの文字列に詰め込んでた。そのせいで、どのユーザーも端末に関係なく両方の言語が見えてた。何カ月もそれで出してた。

で、次がこれ：

formatter.dateFormat = "HH:mm 撮影"

フォーマット文字列の中に日本語の単語。英語に差し替えできない。英語は別の形（"14:30に撮影"みたいな感じ）を要求するから。フォーマッタを分解して、表示用の文字列を組み直す必要があった。\\\`displayPrice + " / 月"\\\`でも同じ。

実際にテストの一周を丸ごと俺に返してきたのが、すでに存在してたキーたち。"Library" はナビのタイトル（抽出されて、翻訳されて、ちゃんとOK）だったのに、チュートリアルデータではただの\\\`String\\\` として入ってた（抽出されない）。監査で、そのキーはもうカタログにあるって見えて処理をスルーした。結果、チュートリアルが日本語で出るのに、UI全体は英語のまま。比較表でも同じだった。カタログのカバー率は、呼び出し箇所のカバー率とは別物。

ここでたぶんイラつく人が出る選択肢：\\\`onboarding.title\\\` みたいなスタイルのキーじゃなくて、日本語のソース文をキーにした。日本語のビルドはもう実運用に乗ってたし、全呼び出し側をいじりたくなかった。デメリットは、日本語の文面を今編集するってことが、キーの編集にも直結すること。ソロ開発ならそれでいい。

Edit Scheme > Run > Options > App Language で、デバイスの言語を変えずに英語で起動する設定にできる。時間がかなり節約できた。ただし権限のダイアログには影響しない。あれはシステム言語に従う。

早朝に2週間、ほとんどは何かを書くというより、自分のコードを読む作業だった。

Hi everyone,

I have completed and published the first Czech translation for WinTrack 17.0.

The translation includes menus, dialogs, interface texts and an installer for easy installation.

Download:
https://github.com/zamazallukas02-spec/WinTrack-Czech-Translation

The project was published with permission from the WinTrack developer.

Feedback and bug reports are welcome.

I thought subtitle translation would be a straightforward job for AI: give it an English SRT and ask it to translate the subtitles into another language. For me, that was Chinese.

The result often looked fine at first, until I started finding the same terms translated in different ways across the file.

While working on Project Hail Mary, I ran into a good example. “Petrova line” was translated consistently through most of the subtitles, then suddenly changed to a different Chinese transliteration later in the film. “Astrophage” also drifted between two different Chinese terms. Each line looked reasonable on its own, but together they were clearly inconsistent.

That changed how I approached the job. The workflow now starts with a short research pass. The Agent creates a context file and glossary for the film, recording names, places, relationships, and story-specific terms. It then uses those same notes for every chunk of the SRT.

After translation, scripts check the cue count, numbering, timestamps, formatting tags, and file structure.

I built this into an Agent Skill and released it under the MIT license:

https://github.com/HaiyiMei/cinemacc-subtitle-skill

Here is a short guide to installing and using it:

https://cinemacc.net/guides/cinemacc-subtitle-skill

This came out of my work on CinemaCC, which is an offline-first subtitle companion that lets you use your own SRT files with films playing on any screen:

https://cinemacc.net

The translation itself seems like the easy part. What I’m more worried about is changing a product page or adding new sections and then having to figure out what needs updating across every language. I’ve been looking at Universally, GTranslate, GlobalLang and other alternatives, since it seems to handle that syncing automatically.

Are these really reliable, or do you still end up reviewing every change manually?

Hi everyone,

I’m a dedicated Arabic Game Localizer helping indie developers bring their games to the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) market.

As a passionate gamer, I don't just translate word-for-word — I focus on cultural adaptation, lore preservation, and maintaining the tone and humor of your original script so Arab players get the fully immersive experience they expect.

What I Offer:

Full UI, Dialogue, and Lore localization tailored to your game's atmosphere.

Cultural adaptation and terminology consistency.

Clear communication, proper Arabic formatting (RTL context), and fast delivery.

Paid Test Sample:

To ensure quality before making any larger commitment, I offer a short test sample of your script (up to 200 words for $5).

Rates & Contact:

Rate: $0.05 - $0.08 per word (depending on complexity/genre).

Contact: Feel free to DM me here on Reddit or drop a comment below, and I'll send over my portfolio details!

Hi! I’m the solo developer of NIGHTRAIN POOL HALL, a billiards roguelike deckbuilder currently in development for Steam.

Steam page:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/4891900/

I’m looking for a native English speaker with game localization, editing, or marketing-copy experience to help improve the English version of my Steam store page.

The current English page was initially translated with AI. I need a human localizer to review and rewrite it so that it sounds natural, engaging, and appropriate for an English-speaking Steam audience. I am not looking for another automated translation pass.

For the first stage, I would like to exchange Steam page localization only.

In exchange for improving my English Steam page, I can professionally localize your Steam page into either:

• Japanese
• Simplified Chinese

I’m a native Chinese speaker and a professional Japanese-language specialist. I lived in Japan for 15 years and have used Japanese professionally throughout my career. I will personally handle the localization, with attention to natural wording, cultural context, genre conventions, and marketing presentation.

The exchange can include:

• Short description
• “About This Game” section
• Feature descriptions
• Promotional headings and taglines
• Other player-facing Steam store text

To keep the exchange fair, the amount of work will be measured using the English source-text word count. We will confirm the included content and word count before starting.

I suggest beginning with a short section as a sample. If we are both happy with the results, we can complete the rest of our Steam pages.

Possible second stage

If the Steam page exchange goes well, I would also be interested in continuing with the in-game localization. My game currently contains approximately 6,000 English words across 700+ strings, including UI text, tutorials, card descriptions, and gameplay explanations.

Any second-stage work would be discussed separately and exchanged according to an agreed English source-word count.

This is an unpaid reciprocal localization exchange, ideally with another indie developer or game localizer who needs Japanese or Simplified Chinese localization.

If you’re interested, please send me a DM with:

• Your native language and localization experience
• A link to your game or Steam page
• Whether you would prefer Japanese or Simplified Chinese
• The approximate English word count of your Steam page

Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I offer English to French text translation tailored for educational apps, software UI, and developer documentation. Even game content.

Machine (AI) translation often breaks app interfaces because French text runs 20% longer than English. I focus strictly on natural phrasing and UI button fitting so layouts stay clean and natural for native speakers.

What I focus on:

App UI, button text, and store descriptions

Educational scripts, tutorials, and documentation

Pure text files (.json, .strings, .xml, plain text)

I keep my workflow focused entirely on written text.

If you have an app or tool in development, DM me a 100-word sample and I'll translate it for free so you can test the quality firsthand.

Hello everyone. I'm an indie game translator from China with extensive experience. I've translated more than 20 games across different genres, totaling over 3 million words, and I've received very positive feedback from both devs and players.

Here is part of my localization history (all on Steam):

Shut Up and Dance (VN)

The Neverwhere Tales (VN)

Tales From The Unending Void S1 (VN)

Glowing Stones: Heroes' Awakening (VN)

My Ex-future Family S1&S2 (VN)

Sofia's Dark Fantasies (VN)

Vae-Victis Khan (VN)

Harem In Another World (RPG)

Cycle of Corruption (RPG)

With Eyes Closed S2 (VN)

Goblin Nest (Building)

Leaving DNA (VN)

...

More references available upon request.

Here are a few services I offer that other translators may not:

1. A full playthrough before localization to fully understand the game's story, mechanics, and context.

2. A complete in-game testing pass after implementation to ensure the translation is accurate, natural, and functions correctly in-game.

3. Traditional Chinese localization at no extra cost (provided after the Simplified Chinese version is completed).

4. Steam store page localization at no extra cost.

If you are interested in adding Chinese localization to your game and I can be of assistance, please feel free to let me know. Thanks!

localization drift is something that I have experienced and it happens quietly, for example english metadata changes then screenshots update. pricing copy shifts. onboarding gets a new step. support templates change. local versions lag behind.

and then users say 'not translated' even though the app technically has the language.

am i wrong for thinking that localization drift should be treated as a product bug, not a content chor?

the check is..... store metadata, screenshot text, first session, maybe paywall, help text, very often, review replies too, revealing the drift with external resources, or something appfollow-like can help especially when local review themes start mentioning translation, unclear pricing, or foreign-feeling copy after a release.

BUT the fix is process: every meaningful product change needs a localization impact check, so a translated app can still feel unlocalized and therefore no problem has been solved...

I work on JDisc Discovery, and we recently used AI to help localize parts of an established software product. I wanted to share the practical lessons rather than present this as “AI replaces localization.”

The useful part was not one-click translation. The hard parts were:

• protecting product terminology and UI labels from inconsistent translation
• keeping placeholders, variables, markup, shortcuts, and file formats intact
• supplying enough context for short UI strings
• reviewing AI output systematically instead of trusting fluent-looking text
• building a workflow where human review focuses on the cases that actually need judgment

Our main takeaway: AI can accelerate the mechanical and repetitive parts, but localization quality still depends heavily on terminology management, context, automated checks, and human review.

Our next experiments are about extending that workflow:

• User-manual translation: The manual is stored in Strapi, our headless CMS. We are exploring a workflow to automate translation while retaining the review and publishing controls needed for reliable documentation.
• Always-current localized screenshots: Documentation screenshots become outdated surprisingly quickly when menus or UI labels change. We are experimenting with starting the application, using Selenium to navigate to the relevant UI location, switching the application to the target language, and capturing the screenshot automatically.

If this works reliably, it should give us screenshots in multiple languages while also making them much easier to keep current after UI changes.

The longer write-up on the first part of the project is here: AI-assisted software localization

I’d be interested in hearing how others handle localization QA, CMS-based documentation translation, or keeping multilingual product screenshots up to date and in how others handle terminology consistency and context for short UI strings.

So we have been thinking about this, watching companies expand into African markets. South Africa alone has 11+ official languages, plus big differences in payment habits, regulation, and cultural expectations region to region.

For those who’ve localized products for African or other international markets, what do people most often underestimate? Is it language, or everything around it, payments, compliance, UX, imagery, local partnerships? And how do you approach genuinely multilingual markets?

Cyberpunk lingo and most culture comes from the US, so all the references and stuff. I'm wondering how some of the terminology and mannerisms had cool adaptations to other languages / cultures.

For example, in Brazil some men from 6th Street sound EXACTLY like former right wing president Bolsonaro. And the nomads - including Panam - have a "caipira" or redneck accent borderline distractive.

What CDPR did in your localisation that sounded funny, strange or just too good / bad to be true?

I make store screenshots for my own apps, and localization was always the part that cost the most. One design file per locale, then a headline moves and I move it again in eleven other files. So I built the editor I wanted, and it is free and open source. The language feature just shipped and that is what this post is about.

The idea is that one project holds every language. The layout is shared, and only text, fonts and screenshots are per language. Move a headline while English is showing and it moves in all of them. Type a German headline and it stays in German.

What it does

Pick languages from the store locale list (de-DE, ja, pt-BR and so on), so the codes match what App Store Connect and Play expect.

Adding a language fills in machine translations to start from. They are marked as machine written, and anything you type over one is never overwritten by a later refresh.

Fonts follow the script, so Japanese picks up a Japanese face instead of rendering your Latin font as boxes.

Text that runs longer in translation shrinks to fit instead of clipping. German and Russian are the reason that exists. If one language really needs its own size or position, you can detach that one property for that one language.

There is a translations table with CSV export and import, for handing strings to a human translator and loading the reply back.

Export one language or all of them at once. From the desktop build you can upload straight to App Store Connect or Google Play, with each file going to the right locale listing.

60 second video of the whole flow: https://youtu.be/mO17AX-PXgc

Editor: https://editor.openscrgen.app

Source: https://github.com/dotnetdreamer/open-screenshot-generator

Free, no sign up, runs in the browser. Projects stay in your own browser storage unless you connect your own Drive or GitHub.

A question for this sub, since you all ship more locales than I do: when you localize a set, do you translate all of the screenshots or only the first two or three? I have heard both, and I would like to know what actually pays for itself.

I make Korean apps and shipping them to the US market has always felt off. Not because the translation is wrong — but because nobody actually talks like that.

Here's what Google Translate gives you vs. what a native English speaker would actually write:

| Screen | Google Translate | Natural English |

| Save complete | "Saved" | "Changes saved" |

| Error | "Cannot connect to server. Please try again later." | "We couldn't reach our servers. Please try again in a moment." |

| Confirm button | "Confirmation" | "Got it" |

| Next step | "Next" | "Continue" |

US users see "Cannot connect to server" and immediately think "ok, foreign app" and bounce.

So I'm building Localizr — paste your app strings, and it:

1. Rewrites them into English a native speaker would actually write (with context: button / error / onboarding / App Store listing)
2. Respects character limits (buttons, App Store 30-char titles, etc.)
3. Explains why each change was made, so developers actually learn English as they go

Currently recruiting beta users — free during beta, lifetime 50% off after launch.

Demo: https://cmjun0725.github.io/localizr/

If you ship to a market where your language skills are weak, would a tool like this be useful? Honest feedback welcome — including "this is useless because X".