Beyond Translation: Localising a Game for Indian Players

Many studios treat localisation for India as a translation task: add Hindi, ship, move on. The result is often a game that is technically readable but still feels foreign. Indian players notice when a game was built for someone else. This article covers what localisation involves beyond the text file, and where studios most often go wrong.

Start with who you are localising for

About 66% of Indian gamers are outside metros, and the female share of gamers rose from 41% to 44% in FY24. The typical player is not a metro-based, English-first professional. Localisation decisions should start from that player.

That does not mean every game needs every language on day one. It means making a deliberate choice about which players you want to reach first, and localising for them properly.

Language choices

English is widely understood among urban players and in tech-heavy communities, but it is not enough for most of the audience. Hindi reaches a large share of players across the north and centre of the country. Other major regional languages matter enormously in their own states.

A practical approach:

• Launch with English and Hindi for the broadest initial reach.
• Add regional languages in sequence, guided by where your installs and retention actually come from.
• Consider Hinglish (Hindi and English mixed, often in Latin script) for casual tone, UI hints and marketing, where it can feel more natural than formal Hindi.
• Do not machine-translate and ship. Formal, dictionary-style Hindi can read as stiff or even comic in a game context.

Hypothesis to validate: Conversational, mixed-language copy may outperform formal translation for casual and social games in India. Test variants with real players before committing to a single register.

Cultural references

Culture shows up in small details: names, food, festivals, clothing, gestures, colours, jokes and the way characters address each other. A reference that is neutral in one market can be confusing or sensitive in another.

Areas to review:

• Festivals and seasons: Diwali, Holi, Eid, Christmas, Onam and regional new years can anchor events, but each has its own meaning and audience. Treat them with care, not as a theme skin.
• Food and everyday objects: swapping a burger for a regional snack is a small change that signals effort.
• Religion and mythology: Indian mythology is a rich source of themes, and also an area where careless treatment causes offence. Get local review for anything that touches deities, sacred places or religious symbols.
• Sport: cricket is a shared cultural language and a natural hook for events and cosmetics.
• Humour: wordplay rarely survives translation. Rewrite jokes rather than translate them.

Characters and settings

Players respond to seeing themselves in a game. That does not require turning every title into an India-set game, but it helps to offer characters, skins and settings that feel familiar.

• Characters: offer a range of skin tones, body types, names and outfits that include Indian players without stereotyping them.
• Settings: a street market, a monsoon city or a cricket ground can make an event or map feel local.
• Voice: if your game uses voice, regional accents in English can feel more natural than a neutral international voice.

Avoid caricature. A turban, a sari and a curry joke do not amount to cultural localisation.

As a hypothetical example, a Scandinavian casual studio with a cooking game might add a festival-season kitchen, regional dishes and a set of characters with Indian names, while keeping the core loop unchanged. The game stays itself, but it now feels like it was made with Indian players in mind.

UI adaptation

UI is where localisation often breaks.

• Script rendering: Devanagari and other Indian scripts need proper font support, including conjunct characters. Test on real devices, not only in the editor.
• Text expansion: some translations run longer than English. Leave room in buttons, labels and dialogue boxes.
• Font size and legibility: typical smartphones cost $200 to $400, and many have smaller or lower-resolution screens. Small text in complex scripts becomes unreadable quickly.
• Numbers and currency: show prices in rupees, and consider Indian number formatting (lakh and crore) where it fits the audience.
• Icons over text: where possible, rely on clear icons so players can navigate even before they read.

Pricing and payment flows

Localisation includes the price tag and the checkout. A beautifully localised game with a card-only payment flow will still lose buyers.

The data is clear on payments: 83% of players prefer UPI or digital wallets. On pricing, payer conversion held steady at 25% in CY25, with mid-core ARPPU at $15 and casual at $3. Many players will pay, but in small amounts.

• Set regional price points rather than converting dollar prices.
• Offer small, low-entry packs so first purchases feel safe.
• Make UPI the default path and keep the number of steps low.
• Localise the store copy for each offer, so players understand exactly what they are buying.
• Use rewarded ads as a fair alternative for players who will not pay. 47% of users are ad-tolerant, and rewarded ads carried a $2.43 eCPM compared with $1.1 overall.

Hypothesis to validate: Showing prices in rupees with familiar round numbers may increase first-purchase conversion more than discounts on dollar-based tiers. Compare both in a controlled test.

Testing and feedback

Localisation is never right first time. Plan for iteration.

• Native-speaker review for every language, ideally from the regions you are targeting, not only from a translation vendor.
• Device testing on low and mid-range Android phones, since Android is about 90% of the market.
• Small player panels in metro and non-metro cities to check tone, humour and cultural fit.
• In-game feedback routes in local languages, so players can flag problems easily.
• Segmented analytics: compare retention and spend by language setting, not just by region.

Localisation checklist

• Define the first player segments you are localising for
• Choose launch languages and a sequence for adding more
• Decide on register (formal, conversational, mixed) per language
• Review names, festivals, food, mythology and humour with local reviewers
• Add characters, skins or settings that feel familiar without stereotyping
• Test script rendering and text expansion on real devices
• Show prices in rupees with regional price points
• Put UPI and wallets at the centre of checkout
• Localise store listings, screenshots and ad creatives
• Run native-speaker and player-panel tests before scaling

Where GamerVault fits

GamerVault is an independent publisher and distributor based in Bengaluru and London, set up to help global studios succeed in India and Indian studios reach the world. Localisation and cultural fit sit at the centre of how we think about publishing in India. If you are planning to localise a title for Indian players, we are happy to talk through the approach.