Available for new projects

Game translation and localization – FR · EN · DE · RU

We translate the spirit of your games, not just their words.

Video games, board games, tabletop RPGs, miniatures games, gamebooks or escape games: GameTrad translates, proofreads and localizes your texts in French, English, German and Russian, so players everywhere get the game you meant them to play. And beyond games: software, websites, books.

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Our approach: translation that feels native

A game is more than its words. It has a voice, a rhythm, a sense of humor and a mood of its own. Our job is to bring all of that to life in the target language, so that your rules, names and puns read as if they had been written there in the first place.

This approach rests on two kinds of experience: translation and quality assurance inside video game studios on one side, and large-scale localization management across more than 50 markets on the other.

Spirit before letter

We start from intent: what the player should understand, feel and want to do next. Word-for-word comes second, if at all.

Humor and tone

A pun, a creature name or a catchphrase cannot simply be translated; it has to be reinvented. We look for the line that gets the same grin in the same place.

Crystal-clear rules

An ambiguous rule can spoil a game night. We use the vocabulary your players already know and keep it identical from the first page to the last card.

Our game translation and localization services

From rulebook translation to linguistic quality assurance, we step in at every stage of localization, for a one-off project or as a long-term partner.

Game translation and localization

We adapt all of your content for its new audience, cultural references included.

  • Dialogue and narrative text
  • UI, menus and tutorials
  • Lore and descriptions
  • Rulebooks and cards
  • Gamebooks

Translation proofreading and adaptation

Already translated? We review, correct and, where needed, rewrite until the text recaptures the spirit of the original.

  • Review against the source text
  • Spelling, grammar and typography
  • Rewriting of overly literal passages

Linguistic and functional QA (LQA)

We test your game and flag whatever gets in the way of reading or playing.

  • In-context linguistic testing
  • Functional testing
  • Clear bug reports for development teams

Subtitling and voice-over

We subtitle your videos and adapt your scripts for voice-over.

  • Cinematics
  • Trailers
  • Rules videos

Localization project management

We organize and coordinate your localization, from a single language to many markets.

  • Localization workflows
  • Glossaries and terminology consistency
  • Coordination of teams and vendors
  • Tools: Trados, memoQ, Smartling

The games we translate

Every kind of game has its own conventions, vocabulary and constraints. We know them because we play them.

Video games

Dialogue, UI, quests, achievements and store pages, from a video game translator who handles character limits and variables with care.

Board games

Rulebooks, cards, boards and box copy: board game translation that is clear on first read, right at the table.

Miniatures games

Army books, unit profiles, scenarios and background lore, with rigorous rules wording.

Gamebooks

Numbered sections, branching paths and puzzles: the story flows, the mechanics stay intact.

Escape games

Puzzles, clues and storylines: we adapt the wordplay so every riddle can still be solved in the target language.

Role-playing games

Core books, adventures, campaigns and character sheets: tabletop game localization in the service of immersion.

And beyond games

Games are our home turf, not our only specialty. We also translate and localize software, apps, websites, books and plenty of other content, with the same care.

  • Software and apps
  • Websites
  • Books
  • Marketing
  • E-learning
  • Documentation
  • Audiovisual

Our languages: French, English, German, Russian

Translation, proofreading and localization in every combination of French, English, German and Russian.

FR EN DE RU
  • FR French
  • EN English
  • DE German
  • RU Russian

Each language can be the source or the target: twelve combinations in all.

Key figures: our character sheet

If GameTrad were a game character, these would be its stats.

  • 10+ years of experience in multilingual projects
  • 12+ years of freelance translation
  • 50+ markets coordinated in localization
  • 30+ countries with product launches
  • 4 languages, every combination

Before / after: one card makes the difference

Here is a card from an imaginary party game, “The Tipsy Troll Tavern”. One source text, two translations.

Source text (French)

Dernière tournée !

Chaque joueur passe sa chope à son voisin de gauche. Celui qui hérite de la chope vide paie sa tournée… et passe son prochain tour.

Literal translation

Last tour!

Each player passes his mug to his neighbor of left. The one who inherits the empty mug pays his tour… and passes his next turn.

Adapted by GameTrad

Last Call!

Everyone passes their tankard to the player on their left. Whoever gets stuck with the empty one buys the next round… and skips their next turn.

  • A “tournée” is a round of drinks, not a tour, and what the bartender shouts in English is “last call”.
  • “Passer son tour” means missing a turn; “passes his turn” would suggest the player still gets to act.
  • “Gets stuck with” keeps the playful tone of “hérite de”, which “inherits” loses.

How we work

A simple, transparent process from your first message to final delivery.

  1. You send us the text and the game's context

    Files, word count, languages and deadlines, but also the game's world, its audience and your references: the more we know, the better the translation.

  2. We send you a quote

    You receive a clear quote and a firm deadline, with no obligation.

  3. Translation, proofreading or LQA

    We work with your glossary, or build one, and raise our questions as we go.

  4. Delivery and revisions

    You receive the text in the agreed format. We take your feedback on board and polish until everything is in place.

Our experience

More than ten years of multilingual projects, from video game QA to large-scale localization.

2022 – 2026

International localization

International fintech

Management of content and documentation localization across more than 50 markets: linguistic quality, consistency and on-time delivery. Coordination of translation vendors and in-house teams, set-up of workflows and tool integrations, support for launches in more than 30 countries.

2019 – 2022

Linguistics and content for AI

Voice assistant of a major technology group

Creation and quality control of linguistic content, writing of guidelines and training materials, facilitation of agile processes (Scrum).

2017 – 2019

Translation project management

International translation agency

Projects in the legal, business, marketing, e-learning and life sciences fields. Resource and deadline planning, compliance with ISO standards, coordination of linguists, quality control and key account management.

2015 – 2017

Video game quality assurance

Two major international publishers

Linguistic and functional QA, bug analysis and documentation with the development teams.

2015 – 2016

Online game translation

Free-to-play game publisher

Translation, proofreading and terminology management.

Since 2014

Freelance translation

Audiovisual specialty

Translation, proofreading and terminology. Subtitling, surtitling and voice-over.

Education

Two university master's degrees in translation, earned in Belgium: multidisciplinary translation and audiovisual translation.

Open to one-off collaborations, long-term partnerships with studios, and a permanent in-house role on your team.

Our tools

The tools we master, from computer-assisted translation to project management.

CAT tools and localization

  • Trados
  • memoQ
  • Smartling

Subtitling

  • EZTitles
  • Spot

Project management

  • Jira
  • Confluence
  • Notion
  • Trello
  • Asana
  • Monday

Content and CMS

  • Contentful
  • Builder.io

Design and media

  • Figma
  • Canva
  • Premiere Pro
  • OBS
  • Audacity

Technical

  • HTML
  • CSS
  • Python

Methods: international project coordination, process optimization, agile methods (Scrum, Kanban) and the V-model.

Let's talk about your game

A translation project, a proofreading job, a QA pass or a position to fill on your team? Tell us about it in a few lines and we will reply personally.

contact@gametrad.de

Reply within 48 hours