Post
Translating your game into Chinese, Japanese, and Korean can double your revenue for a fraction of your development cost.
Localization is the process of adapting a game for different languages and regions, and for indie developers, it is one of the highest-ROI investments available. The Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and European markets represent enormous player bases that many English-first indies leave on the table. Budget-friendly approaches include community translation programs, freelance translators found through indie dev communities, and AI-assisted translation with human review. The key languages for revenue impact are usually Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, and German. Smart localization goes beyond text translation -- it considers cultural references, UI layout changes for different text lengths, and even marketing materials for regional storefronts.
Example
Terraria invested in localization for over a dozen languages and saw massive sales growth in China specifically, where it became one of the most popular games on Steam. The relatively modest cost of translation generated millions in additional revenue from a market the game initially could not reach.
Why it matters
The global gaming market is far bigger than the English-speaking world. A game that only supports English is leaving potentially half or more of its revenue on the table. For text-light games especially, localization costs can pay for themselves within weeks of launching in a new language.
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