Localisation
Localisation your publisher pays for, at a standard you would sign off
EightSix is not a translation vendor. On the Steam Global route your Chinese co-publisher funds and runs the Simplified Chinese localisation. Our job is to make sure it is scoped properly, done well and reviewed by someone on your side.
What the deal should say
Four things the contract settles before a word is translated
Most localisation questions are settled by scoping. A contract that says the publisher will localise the game, and nothing more, leaves four things undefined.
What gets localised
In-game text and UI, the Steam store page, key art, trailers with Chinese titles and subtitles, patch notes and community posts. Anything not listed is out of scope, so the list is worth getting right.
Who owns it
You do. The translated text, the localised art and the Chinese trailer are deliverables the publisher funds, not assets they keep. The contract sets this out explicitly.
What quality means
A native-speaker review of a sample, a glossary for your game’s own terms, and QA on Chinese fonts, text expansion and input methods. The contract sets the standard and the review process that proves it was met.
When it is done
Before marketing starts, not alongside it. A localised store page and trailer land first, so the demand read improves before the game is even patched.
What we check
From brief to signed-off build
- Check 1
The brief and the glossary
We write the localisation brief with you: tone, names, terms that must not be translated, and the content that needs a cultural note rather than a literal rendering.
EightSixWrites the brief, builds the glossary with youYouConfirm the terms that matter - Check 2
The sample review
A native-speaker review of a representative slice before the full pass, so the tone is right before the volume is done. Rework is cheap here and expensive later.
EightSixCommissions and reads the reviewYouSee the findings - Check 3
In-game QA
Fonts that render, strings that fit, input that works, and nothing in the text that reads wrong to a Chinese player. Checked on the build, not the spreadsheet.
EightSixRuns the checklist with the publisherYouSign off the localised build - Check 4
Specialist vendors, where the game needs them
Publishers have their own localisation teams and vendor relationships, and for most titles that is the right answer. Where a game has unusual demands, heavy narrative, dense systems text or an invented lexicon, we bring in specialist vendors from our network for the publisher to fund or for you to contract directly.
EightSixVendor referral and coordinationYouChoose the vendor
Why it matters
Chinese players review the translation, not just the game
A poor Simplified Chinese localisation is the most common reason a Western game with real China demand collects negative reviews there. Chinese players say so, in their own language, on your existing store page, and those reviews weigh on the score everyone else sees.
The fix is not a more expensive vendor. It is a contract that defines the standard, a brief that captures your game, and someone on your side reading the result before it ships.
Before you ask
The questions studios ask about localisation
Should we localise before finding a publisher?
Not the full game. A funded, professionally reviewed localisation is a large part of what a good co-publishing deal gives you, and paying for one yourself removes that from the negotiation. A localised store page and a Chinese-subtitled trailer are worth doing early, because they sharpen the demand read.
Does EightSix translate?
No. We scope the localisation into the contract, brief it, check it and bring in specialists where needed. The translating is done by the publisher’s team or a vendor we have vetted.
What about Traditional Chinese?
Taiwan and Hong Kong are a separate market with separate publishers, and worth doing. A Simplified Chinese localisation does not cover them. Traditional Chinese is a distinct deliverable and should be scoped as one.
The next step
Find out what your game is worth in China
A free assessment of your game's existing China demand: reviews, wishlists and comparable titles, summarised in plain English. No pitch, no obligation, and you keep your IP either way.