Emerging Languages for Localization in 2024
GeForce Now expanding rollout in APAC
Nvidia GeForce Now is becoming more available globally, with notable expansions in APAC in 2023. Malaysian gamers can now play Steam games on their phones through their mobile providers, facilitating many new gamers to make the jump from Mobile to Steam.
Malaysia now joins Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, in having access to GeForce now through country-specific deals. Malaysia even has multiple providers now, meaning it’s even easier to try out PC titles.
While it’s unlikely we’ll see Malaysian, Thai, and Vietnamese becoming common on every major title, we’re already seeing more games include them. It’s a good time to think about these languages in your localization strategy to future-proof your release for new PC gamers in APAC.
Continued Esports growth in Asia
Esports being popular in Asia isn’t breaking news, but 2023 has seen even more growth in Esports excitement in APAC. 2023’s Asia Games drew huge Esports crowds and have helped further push them into mainstream attention.
Recent studies have also shown growing Esports interest in countries like Cambodia, where they’ve previously struggled to make headway. While Esports isn’t relevant for every game, competitive titles on PC and Mobile could make lucrative in-roads in the region by focusing on the things that Esports fans get excited about, with support for their respective language.
Indonesian growth since its Steam support addition
In 2023 Indonesian was added as the 29th language to get full Steam Support. Indonesian has historically been a lucrative region for Mobile, but things like GeForce Now, as well as better availability of gaming hardware, are making it more viable for PC titles.
As we said with GeForce Now’s roll-out in Malaysia, we’re not going to see a sudden explosion in Indonesian localization on Steam. But that also means that games that do include it will stand out to local gamers above those sticking with the typical localization languages.
Continued growth of Turkish Localization
Over 80% of adults in Türkiye play video games in some way, with the majority of them being on Mobile. Turkey is a notably growing market, with revenues in 2022 topping $625 Million. Turkish localization, for these reasons, has been growing on mobile but hasn’t had the same level of growth on PC and Console titles so far.
As with Indonesia, with growing access to services allowing PC gaming, as well as better availability of hardware, we’re likely to see continued growth in the Turkish games market for the foreseeable future.
2024 is the perfect time to look at your localization support and ask if it’s maximizing your games revenue potential. Localization is one of the most important features for visibility and discoverability, especially in emerging markets.
If you want to stay on top of the latest market news and updates from across the APAC region, check out our podcast APAC Games Weekly.