While machine translation works fine in many industries, game localization turned out to be a tough nut to crack. The main reason for this is that gaming (regardless of the type of game) always aims for an immersive experience, and one core part of that experience is natural-sounding dialogue and in-game text. So what’s so challenging about translating them properly? It may sound like a given, but creativity plays a massive role in bringing games to life, especially when it comes to their translation. A translator might have a sudden flash of inspiration and come up with an unexpected phrasing or wording that resonates with players much better than the original text. Can a machine be creative? Not yet. And that means that machine translations will potentially always lack the creative element that sometimes makes the whole game shine. One of the biggest challenges in localization is making the translation sound as natural as possible. And since every country and region has its own specific languages and dialects, it takes a thorough understanding of one’s culture to successfully adapt a translation to it. While a machine learning solution can be trained on an existing database, what if it comes across a highly specific phrase that only locals know how to use? This is where professional translation by native speaking linguists and community feedback are highly helpful. Input from native speakers of the target language who know its intricacies can advise on the best wording. And for that, you need to have a feel for the language that you’re working with, not just theoretical knowledge. Certain words convey a certain tone, and this is something that we do without thinking, just by feel. So when translating a game, a human translator can sense the overall vibe of the game (or of a specific dialogue) and use not just the original wording but synonyms that better convey the tone and mood. Conversely, a machine is not able to “sense the mood,” so in some cases the translation may not sound as natural as it could.