How to successfully switch localisation partners

taking over a project

Switching localisation providers can present significant challenges for businesses, particularly when it comes to the dynamic world of game development and distribution. Despite facing issues with the quality of multilingual content, companies frequently delay parting ways with their current localisation partner, concerned about potential disruptions or encountering similar problems with new agencies. However, transferring projects to a different team doesn’t always have to feel overwhelming!

 

Read our case study to explore how we’ve come up with a proven process that allows us to seamlessly assume control of ongoing translation projects.

Challenges and objectives

The decision to switch localisation providers is typically motivated by a quest for enhanced content quality. It encompasses tasks such as:

eliminating terminology inconsistencies,

translating legacy terms which were left in the source language,

ensuring cross-file consistency,

building a translation memory and game glossary.

Today’s games as a service (GaaS), particularly those tailored for mobile devices, have extensive lifespans and undergo frequent updates, which introduce new events and features that demand continuous localisation efforts.

Effective management of these types of projects calls for a well-coordinated team of project managers and top-tier translators who work together to deliver high-quality content free from errors, inconsistencies, or formatting issues.

Step 1: Lockit – collecting existing data

We take over a translation project after receiving the client’s lockit – a comprehensive set of legacy files encompassing translation memories, glossaries, style guides, game screenshots, and other helpful files and documents.

Compiling files that contain details about previously used terms and existing game features is essential to ensure consistency with previous translations.

When working with these files, it’s crucial to be extra careful. We make sure to thoroughly check translation memories and glossaries to find any mistakes or content that hasn’t been translated yet and needs to be localised.

When providing linguists with the legacy files and reference materials, we tell them to look out for potential errors in the lockit. Catching these issues early on makes it significantly easier to ensure consistency in the future.

We prioritise quality above all else. If there are errors in the lockit, we promptly correct them and make sure we use appropriate terminology in new language versions, even if it means deviating from consistency with the legacy content.

Want to boost the quality of your multilingual game’s content?

Step 2: Enriching project assets

As we receive more projects, we expand our translation memories and termbases with additional content. This helps our linguists and project managers work more efficiently while ensuring cross-file consistency.

When managing projects related to unfamiliar subjects, we reach out to our linguists through an interest form to identify individuals with expertise in a given area – it could be anything from fishing to aviation and World War II history.

If necessary, we recruit additional linguists with the required expertise.

Conclusions

Thanks to our proven solutions, we can swiftly enhance the quality of content within a specific game while ensuring consistency with past translations. This secures the game publisher’s confidence that players will continue to enjoy the game without any distractions.