Crafting a Comprehensive Localisation Strategy for Global Game Launches

Ahead of the Live Service Gaming Summit, we spoke to Tamara Tirjak, Head of Localisation at Frontier Developments, about crafting a successful localisation strategy for launching games globally, involving alignment with broader company objectives.

How do you approach setting the direction for your studio's localisation strategy to align with Frontier's objectives of launching games globally? What are the primary considerations when defining these strategies?  

When aligning localisation strategy to the broader objectives, it is important to bring together a diverse set of teams, so that we can consider every aspect from market opportunities to technical constraints. Localisation is an enabler for a number of business functions, and I love learning about other teams’ goals and challenges, and figuring out how we can contribute to their success, and through them to Frontier’s goals of launching games globally.

How does a robust localisation strategy facilitate access to new markets and help expand your audience? Can you share examples of how adapting games to meet cultural expectations has influenced player engagement and satisfaction?

A successful localisation strategy brings the global perspective into the entire process of developing and publishing a game. At Frontier, the Localisation team was involved quite early in the concepting phase for the Planet Zoo themes and expansion packs. We were able to do research and provide feedback on the proposed scenery pieces, to ensure that they are not only beautiful, but they are also a relevant and respectful way to show the culture they represent. This has made the game a celebration of cultural diversity across the many parts of the world in which its animals are found, which resonated well with players worldwide.

What continuous improvement initiatives have you implemented in your localisation processes and tools? How do these enhancements contribute to the efficiency and effectiveness of your localization efforts?

The most important continuous improvement initiative is in the mindset. Members of my team are encouraged to question existing practices, find the root cause of problems and come up with solutions. I provide plenty of forums where these ideas can be raised and discussed. This invitation extends to junior team members who are new to this industry and field, because you never know where the next big idea comes from. We use a combination of commercial and proprietary tools for our work, and in both cases we actively work with the developers to improve the tools, make our lives easier and the output better.

How has the adoption of advanced technologies, like machine learning, transformed your localisation processes?What specific benefits have these technologies brought in terms of speed, accuracy, and cost-efficiency?

At Frontier, we have long been using machine translation and synthesised speech for prototyping, design iterations and internationalisation. Detecting and fixing problems early has greatly reduced the amount of costly and time-consuming rework in the later phases of voice recording and localisation. Personally, I am cautiously enthusiastic about the latest technological advances, such as large language models. They seem promising in some tasks, such as localisation quality estimation, terminology extraction and text pre- and post-processing, but I don’t expect them to be transformative, at least not in the near future.

What discussions are you most looking forward to at the Live Service Gaming Summit?

With a diverse agenda and esteemed speaker lineup, the event is poised to deliver insightful conversations across the board. I am particularly interested to explore the regional nuances in the effectiveness of different live service models. However, I anticipate gaining valuable insights from every talk and panel discussion.