Brazilian Portuguese game localization
Game localization is the process of adapting a game’s text, tone, and cultural references so it feels native to players in another language. At Iguana Localize, we localize games into Brazilian Portuguese for indie studios, from UI and dialogue to Steam pages and patch notes.
What is game localization?
We see game localization as an art. Ask three different people to translate a paragraph from language A into language B, and they’ll all come up with different wording and solutions.
There isn’t a single right answer, but there are wrong ones. As professionals, we learn to be consistent, to create glossaries, to know grammar and spelling rules (and when to break them), and the industry’s best practices. That’s how we provide copy that’s coherent with the original, while also natural enough that a Brazilian would think it was originally written in Brazilian Portuguese.
That’s game localization to us.
Wondering how Brazilian Portuguese differs from European Portuguese? Read the differences between Brazilian and European Portuguese.
English → Brazilian Portuguese
English
source
I trust Iguana Localize because they seem like people who know what they’re doing. They also seem pretty nice and fun to work with.
Translation A
closest to the source and natural — good for item/skill descriptions
Eu confio na Iguana Localize porque eles parecem saber o que estão fazendo. Eles também parecem ser parceiros de trabalho legais e divertidos.
Translation B
formal, rigid structure — good for legal material
Eu confio na Iguana Localize pois creio que sabem o que estão fazendo. A empresa também parece ser muito legal e divertida no ambiente de trabalho.
Translation C
more idiomatic — good for dialogue and creative sections
Confio na Iguana Localize porque tenho a sensação de que entendem do assunto e são legais de trabalhar junto.
Which parts of a game do we localize?
| Content type | Our approach & skills |
|---|---|
| UI and menus | Concise, direct, following grammar rules. |
| Subtitles | Natural and concise, with an optimal CPS (characters per second) rate. |
| Voice-over text | Natural spoken language, lip sync, character count rigorously close to the English source. |
| Cinematics | Faithful to the tone and pacing of the scene. |
| Legal | Precise and faithful to the source, with no creative liberties. |
| Marketing text | Natural and relatable to convert into sales. |
| Trailers | Short and punchy, fitted to the timing of the video. |
| Patch notes | Friendly, structured for better scannability. |
Each area requires a different approach and different skills. You don’t want to be creative when translating legal material, nor too “rigid” and “literal” when translating dialogue.
What do we need from you?
Localization requires both parties. We need you more than you think.
If we work together, we’d ask you:
- Reference materials: Scripts, game plan, character summaries and backgrounds, images of items, NPCs… Every bit of info is invaluable to us;
- Game keys: If we can, we like to play your full game or at least the demo. This helps a lot with context;
- Be there for our questions: We need you or someone from your team to answer our questions. We’ll probably ask for more context, images, and to understand your original intention with a certain line or paragraph;
- Credits: Every person from our team who worked on your game should be credited.
Who localizes your game?
Our team is made up of people with a strong linguistic background who are also gamers. We’re full-time linguists: this isn’t a side job. We’re professionals, and we know what we’re doing (see how we work). We’re all gamers too, with different preferences and genres, and we stay up to date on industry trends, terminology, and novelties, which also translates into better copy.
Where does LQA fit in?
Game localization finishes with LQA (linguistic quality assurance): a process in which we check that the translations were correctly implemented in the game, that the text isn’t overflowing or cut off, and whether there are linguistic issues or missing translations.
Check our dedicated LQA page to learn more.
Is your game ready to be localized?
We’re also experts in internationalization (i18n), and we can help you with tips on how to best prepare your game for localization. A good place to start is our guide, What you need to localize your game.
Where to start?
Start with your Steam page. It’s usually an investment of between $50 and $225 per language. With it, you can test us: see if we’re a good match, check our text, the questions we ask you, and how professional we are.
Spoiler alert: you may fall in love.
FAQ
No. We are focused on quality, and we are sure we can do better than it. Simple as that.
Localization + review typically costs between $0.10 and $0.15 per word.
An indie game usually has between 3,000 and 20,000 words, so it costs between $300 and $3,000 per language.
We have discounts for indie devs. Talk to us!
More than an Iguana takes to devour a banana. Our focus is quality, so we can deliver 10,000 words per week and 40-50,000 words per month, translated and reviewed (TEP). If you’re looking for something fast and good enough, there are better players out there.
Maybe. Localization has a huge ROI (return on investment), but we must be honest: localization alone isn’t magic.
You must first build a game that people want to play and have a good marketing strategy.
Translating your Steam page is a good start to check which markets are worth localizing.
XML, CSV, JSON, PO, XLIFF… Pretty much everything, even Unity and Unreal files if you insist.
You should, and so are we. We are available to sign NDAs. From our side, all our linguists sign an NDA with us and are frequently reminded to secure their folders, be extra cautious with their laptops and take a lot of care when publishing on social media. We don’t take this lightly.
Ultimately, because we’re good at what we do. We believe in humans, and we’re professional, flexible and accessible.
Research from the Iguana Institute shows that 99% of people who test our services fall in love with us (we didn’t want to put 100% to avoid sounding arrogant).
As we say in Brazil, it doesn’t hurt to ask. We’re here for you.