LATEST ISSUE
June 2026
Bertrand Bodson: Global Gaming Localization
In this issue, we speak with leaders at Keywords Studios, Bertrand Bodson and Romina Franceschina, who discuss their integrated approach, growth via strategic mergers and acquisitions, and commitment to game localization as a multicultural content service.
Post Editing
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hen video games first stormed 1970s popular culture in a flurry of bleeps and bloops, cultural tastemakers wrote them off as children’s toys. That’s understandable given that, more than any other expressive medium, games depend upon technology to enable the images they can create, the stories they can tell, and the ideas they can inspire. The absence of color photography or sound recording doesn’t make Carl Dreyer’s 1928 silent drama The Passion of Joan of Arc any less masterful. By comparison, while 1978’s Space Invaders remains compulsively playable and brilliantly designed, its simplistic graphics, sound effects, and narrative reflect the limitations of its era.
How times have changed! Fifty years later, games are a commercial juggernaut, pulling in five to six times the revenue of the movie industry. They’re entertainment, keeping players occupied for hours in Call of Duty deathmatches and World of Warcraft raids. They’re art, lending structure and interactivity to the Lynch- and Dostoevsky-inspired psychological horror of Silent Hill 2 and the sharp political satire of Disco Elysium. And they’re an inescapable cultural presence, providing the source material for everything from Internet memes to summer blockbusters to prestige dramas like HBO’s The Last of Us and A24’s forthcoming Elden Ring.
As video games have grown in sophistication, so too have the linguists who localize games for international audiences. They’re invaluable partners in translation, performance direction, dubbing, localization quality assurance, culturalization, testing, and much more.
In MultiLingual’s annual gaming issue, we focus on the professionals and studios that have helped make gaming the global phenomenon it is today. We spoke with several leading studios to learn about their capabilities and services, as well as how downturns in the games industry have affected them. Marina Ilari, CEO of Terra, covers the history of game localization from its simple beginnings to its modern operational complexity. And that’s just the beginning of this month’s offerings.
We hope this issue supplies a little inspiration over the coming month!
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Recaps
ELIA Focus on Executives 2026: Reframing Value and Leadership
Across two focused days, Focus on Executives 2026 explored what future-ready leadership looks like in an AI-shaped industry. The event consistently returned to one central idea: Organizations that succeed will be those that combine technological adaptability with stronger relationships, clearer positioning, and a deeper understanding of
client realities.
Column
TRANSLATING TECH
When One Tool Does Everything, What Happens to Everyone Else?
Generalist AI models are absorbing specialized technologies, reducing products like language tech to mere features. To survive, specialized companies must pursue a combination of meaningful quality advantages, deep niche applications, and careful diversification.
Community
Localizing Inclusive Language
Lessons from the LGBTQ+ community
By Alex Sirac (they/them) and Caitlin Quiat (she/they)
Localizing inclusive language for the LGBTQ+ community is complicated, as it must account for such variations as grammatical gender, natural gender, and genderless languages as well as issues like political resistance and the risk of outing users. The authors shed light on these issues and the evolving state of inclusive localization.
Profile
Unlocking a Global Audience
Keywords Studios and the mechanics of
modern game localization
Interview by Cameron Rasmusson
Leaders at Keywords Studios — a creative and technical solutions provider for the gaming and entertainment industries — discuss the company’s journey and future. Bertrand Bodson and Romina Franceschina highlight their integrated approach, growth via strategic M&As, and commitment to game localization as a multicultural
content service.
Gaming
Translating Worlds: The Studios Localizing Your Favorite Games
By MultiLingual Staff
Five leading studios specializing in global and regional video game localization, audio, and dubbing services — Lionbridge Games, Molok, Perfect Sound, Quoted, and RoundTable Studio — share their histories, services, and standout products.
Gaming
Reframing Quality in Video Game Localization
What 50 years of game history teaches us
about quality
By Marina Ilari
With the advent of AI, video game localization quality must shift beyond linguistic accuracy to player experience and business impact. The author offers a framework for thinking about quality, focusing on content performance (engagement, retention) and connecting operational metrics to business outcomes.
Gaming
The State of Game Localization in 2026
Amidst the turmoil, how are localization professionals faring?
As the games industry continues to grasp for stability after the post-COVID downturn, localization specialists find themselves adjusting with the market dynamics. What does it take to be resilient in this
new terrain?
Business
When Language Becomes Data:
How to Measure Localization Impact
By Yana Kolesnikova and Anastasia Yurashko
Localization is too often assumed to offer little useful data for market strategy. But is that really the case? With the right approach, the insights derived from localization data can be transformative.
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Sponsored Content
How Game Studios Can Ride
the AI Wave in Localization
Supported by Gridly
To successfully integrate AI in game localization, studios must first fix fundamental workflow issues. The WAVE framework (Workflow, Augmented context, Validation, Expansion) guides this maturity, ensuring that AI doesn’t merely speed up existing chaos.
Turning Complexity Into a Growth Lever
Supported by Translated
Translated’s VP of AI Solutions, John Tinsley, explains how operational fragmentation in localization led to TranslationOS, the first adaptive AI service delivery platform for translation.
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