Press Releases
Games developers should pay closer attention to localisation to claim a bigger slice of $116 billion global market
Games developers looking to optimise their chances of success in a global market that is now worth almost $116 billion need to pay closer attention to localisation if they want their game or app to reach the widest possible audience.
International translation agency Asian Absolute says that as the size of the global consumer gaming market continues to increase, failure to localise effectively risks being cut off from a huge potential audience for your product. The company points out that only 27% of the consumer game market is English-speaking, with some of the largest other segments being speakers of Japanese, Korean, Russian, Mandarin and Cantonese – the Chinese online and mobile game market is valued at over ÂŁ22 billion.
âTo achieve the greatest commercial success and get the largest possible revenues and downloads, game developers need to reach a genuinely global audience,â explains Asian Absolute Managing Director, Julie Guigere.
âThis means speaking their language but thatâs more than just having the words on screen translated correctly. You need to also consider the cultural context in which the game was created. This means recognising that that, if youâre in the UK, your points of reference will not be the same as a gamer in China. If youâre in Japan, a user in the US will not necessarily find your user interface easy to navigate.â
Miss Giguere adds that if you compare the costs of developing a game with the cost of localising it for other markets versus the potential increase in market reach, it makes sound commercial sense to localise. This is all the more apparent if you consider that 50% of the countries in the Top 10 for downloads and revenue in the Apple Store are non-English speaking, and 80% of the countries in the Top 5 for downloads and revenue in the Google Play Store are non-English speaking.
âItâs not as simple as saying you now have a âSpanishâ version of your game or your app,â she continues. âThe Spanish spoken in Mexico, Argentina or Spain will all differ and a gamers in Hispanic America may be put off by cultural references which only make sense to an audience in Spain.â
Developers who make their games completely accessible to users in multiple territories not only gain commercially but also through brand appreciation.
âThe increasing global connectivity of gamers as a whole adds up to considerable profit potential. But it also adds up to a large number of potential users being exposed to your product and then becoming upset if it is not possible for them to enjoy the game comfortably. You only have to look at any review site to see the number of comments demanding localisation in the userâs preferred language. These days, game localisation is viewed increasingly as a gamerâs right rather than a privilege.â
Founded in 2000, Asian Absolute is an international translation agency with offices in London, Beijing, Chiayi, Melbourne, New York, Panama, Bangkok and Varna. It provides translation, localisation, interpretation and marketing services required for success in global markets by enabling businesses and other organisations to communicate confidently and effectively in any given language.
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Levy announcement: GamCare statement and data
Statement:
Mark Weiss, Deputy CEO and Director of Communications and External Affairs at GamCare, commented:Â âWe welcome todayâs announcement from the Government on the statutory levy and look forward to working with the NHS, other providers and future commissioners to ensure the success of the new treatment, prevention and research system.
âAt GamCare, our priority is making sure that people who need support for gambling harms receive it as quickly and effectively as possible. With a record 55,000 people calling the National Gambling Helpline last year alone, now is the right time for this important clarity on the future system.
âWith 27 yearsâ experience running the National Gambling Helpline, GamCare plays a vital role ensuring people can access gambling harms support when they need it most.
âJust as we welcome this renewed focus on treatment, we recognise the importance of protecting vulnerable people, particularly children, before harms escalate. Thatâs why we welcome the Governmentâs emphasis on prevention. Having witnessed a steep rise in our Helpline callers citing difficulties with online slots, GamCare further welcomes the introduction of new youth-focussed stake limits â an important step in preventing future harm.â
Additional new data from GamCare
- Almost half of calls (45%) to the National Gambling Helpline now cite issues with online slot machine games.
- The proportion of calls to the National Gambling Helpline citing issues with online slot machine games has increased by one-third since the pandemic, according to the gambling support charity GamCare.
- The charity found that, of the 6697 callers who disclosed a form of gambling to Advisers on the Helpline in 2023-2024*, 45 per cent cited challenges with gambling on online slot games, a figure which stood at 34 per cent in 2020-2021.
Activity | 2020-2021 | 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 | 2023-2024 |
Online Slots | 33.6% | 45.8% | 43.9% | 44.6% |
Latest News
Playân GO announces exclusive game launch with Hard Rock Bet
Playân GO, the worldâs leading casino entertainment provider, has today announced the release of a new game title available exclusively to Hard Rock Bet online casino players in New Jersey.
Playân GO recently announced the beginning of its partnership with Hard Rock Digital to provide premium content for its highly-rated Hard Rock Bet online casino in New Jersey.  Â
The Swedish-founded gaming giant partnered up with the renowned global entertainment brand to create Hard Rock Pork N Roll, a spin-off of another wildly popular Playân GO title, Piggy Blitz. The resulting game is the outcome of many months of collaboration and is predicted to entertain Hard Rock Bet players in the same style as its predecessor. Â
Magnus Olsson, Chief Commercial Officer at Playân GO, commented âOur formal partnership with Hard Rock Digital is still in its relative infancy, but many months of work have gone into both the partnership itself and the design of this game, with input from both businesses. Weâre excited by this new exclusive title, and it is a testament to the innovation and creativity of our game designers to create a fun spin-off of one of our classic titles. Hard Rock Pork N Roll is sure to be a huge success- the name of the game alone makes it stand out as an instant classic! This game is evidence of our ability to create top-quality, bespoke content for all of our customers, something weâre looking forward to doing more of in future.âÂ
Grant Williams, SVP-Casino, Hard Rock Digital added âOur âOnly at Hard Rockâ section continues to grow with another exclusive, bespoke experience and the addition of Hard Rock Pork N Rollâan immersive title that seamlessly weaves signature Hard Rock elements into the gameplay. Working with Playân Go on this custom creation has set the standard for future collaboration, and weâre confident that Hard Rock Pork N Roll will quickly become a headliner among the 2,300+ games on our top-rated app.âÂ
To find out more about Playân GO and its Hard Rock Digital partnership, as well as its US activity, please visit playngo.com. Â
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Stretch Network announces Black Friday Weekend Tournament
Black Friday Weekend is here! Stretch Network introduces another player-focused initiative â the Black Friday Weekend promotion. Running from November 29th to December 1st, this event offers up to 90% discounts on buy-ins for the World Poker League tournament series.
Hereâs how it works:
- Players register for special phase tournaments at a reduced cost.
- These 2-minute events donât require player actions and provide the same starting stack as the target tournament.
- After the phase tournament ends, players are automatically registered for the main event.
- Players already in the target tournament will have their stacks combined for added excitement.
Raise with us to go all-in on player satisfaction.
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