Your Game Is Live. Half of Steam Reads Chinese.

Are They Reading Yours?

50% of Steam players read Chinese. 67% quit games with broken translation. I've worked on 50+ titles with Bethesda, KRAFTON, and Hypergryph. Yours shouldn't be the one players quit on.

50%
Steam Reads Chinese
Steam, Feb 2025
67%
Quit on Bad Translation
Slator, 2024
50+
Titles Shipped
Bethesda · KRAFTON · Hypergryph
0
Major Rework
Across 50+ titles

Studios That Worked With Me

Bethesda
KRAFTON
Hypergryph
Tencent Games
Yostar
HoYoverse
Lilith
Perfect World
Bethesda
KRAFTON
Hypergryph
Tencent Games
Yostar
HoYoverse
Lilith
Perfect World
Bandai Namco
NetEase
Larian Studios
USERJOY Technology
Xindong Network
XD Entertainment
WEBZEN
Bandai Namco
NetEase
Larian Studios
USERJOY Technology
Xindong Network
XD Entertainment
WEBZEN
The Language Wall

85% of Steam Games Never Reach Chinese Players.

60 million Chinese Steam players are ready to buy. They search, they browse, they land on your store page, and the first thing they check is: "Does this support Chinese?"

If the answer is no, they close the tab. No wishlist. No follow. No purchase. They don't leave a "no Chinese" review. They just vanish.

Steam's algorithm noticed the silence. Your game stopped appearing in Chinese searches. Your Chinese visibility dropped. You can't see it, there's no "lost to language" column in your analytics. But it happens every single day.

The Quality Trap

Already Translated? Bad Translation Is Worse Than None.

For the 15% that did localize: machine translation reads like a wall of noise. Players who expected a polished experience see broken idioms, mistranslated lore, and UI strings that make no sense.

They leave a negative review. They tell their friends. Your Chinese rating drops. And the algorithm punishes you again, this time visibly, in your public review score.

73% of players lower their rating and spending when translation is broken. 67% quit entirely.

$80B
Game localization market by 2025
Slator, 2024
15%+
Annual market growth
Slator, 2024
60M+
Chinese Steam active players
Valve, 2026

What We Do

We stop that silent churn. Translation matched to your game's genre, terminology locked across updates, and LQA that catches what MT misses. We deliver on your release schedule, not ours.

Get a Free Sample
Services

What Your Players Will See

From in-game dialogue to your Steam store page. Flexible pricing that fits indie budgets without compromising quality.

Game Text Translation

From epic dialogues to intricate lore, UI strings to marketing copy, EN ⇄ CN translation tuned to your game's genre and voice, not a translated feel. Culturally adapted to resonate with Chinese players from the first line.

  • EN ⇄ CN bilingual translation
  • 50+ titles shipped for studios worldwide
  • Genres: RPG, Visual Novel, Action-Adventure, Strategy, Indie
  • 100% on-time delivery rate
RPGIndieAAA

LQA & Quality Assurance

The final checkpoint before your game meets Chinese players: accuracy, consistency, and cultural fit, validated line by line. Because one misread string can break immersion.

  • In-game text display validation
  • Context fit and encoding checks
  • Cultural sensitivity review
  • Terminology consistency audit
QATesting

MTPE (Post-Editing)

Already have machine-translated drafts? I'll elevate them to publish-ready quality. Choose light polish for readability or full edit for professional grade. Same content, higher ceiling.

  • Light post-editing for readability
  • Full post-editing for professional grade
  • Budget-friendly option for large volumes
MTPEEditing

Steam Store Page

Your Steam page is your first impression in China. I localize descriptions, tags, and keywords, tuned for discoverability and conversion in the Chinese market.

  • Store page description localization
  • Tag and keyword optimization for China
  • Marketing copy cultural adaptation
SteamMarketing

Glossary Building

A 1,200-entry glossary built for The Elder Scrolls Series. Your game gets the same treatment: a terminology backbone that keeps every string, quest, and lore book consistent across your universe.

  • Project-specific terminology database
  • Cross-quest consistency maintenance
  • CAT tool integration (MemoQ, Phrase)
GlossaryConsistency

Cultural Adaptation

Humor that lands. Idioms that feel native. Character names that fit the world. Sensitive content handled with care, so Chinese players get the same experience you wrote.

  • Humor and idiom localization
  • Character name adaptation
  • Sensitive content review
CulturalAdaptation

Market Research

Know the Chinese market before you enter: player profiles, competitor benchmarks, and where your game fits in.

  • Chinese player persona and preference analysis
  • Competitor benchmarking in your genre
  • Market entry positioning report
MarketResearch

Business Liaison

Connect with Chinese publishers and platforms: negotiation support and partnership facilitation, end to end.

  • Publisher and platform outreach in China
  • Contract and negotiation language support
  • Partnership facilitation across regions
BusinessPartnership

Community Ops

Build a Chinese community around your game: Steam forums, social media, and player feedback, managed and translated for you.

  • Steam community hub management (Chinese)
  • Social media presence on local platforms
  • Player feedback collection and translation
CommunityEngagement
By the Numbers

The Market Is Talking. So Is the Data.

50%
Steam Reads Chinese
Steam, Feb 2025
67%
Quit on Bad Translation
Slator, 2024
40%
Retention Lift
Slator, 2024
$80B
Localization Market by 2025
Slator, 2024
60M+
Chinese Steam Players
Valve, 2026
50+
Titles Shipped
Bethesda · KRAFTON · Hypergryph
0
Major Rework
Across 50+ titles
5.0
Client Rated
Across all reviews

Sources: Valve · Niko Partners · Newzoo · Gamma Data · Gamalytic · SteamDB · SteamSpy (2024–2026, publicly available reports)

Selected Work

Representative Projects

A selection of localization projects across AAA, indie, and mobile titles, covering EN⇄CN bilingual directions.

The Elder Scrolls Series

The Elder Scrolls Series

Bethesda AAA Project
Arknights: Endfield

Arknights: Endfield

Hypergryph Mobile Game
inZOI

inZOI

KRAFTON AAA Project
Etheria: Restart Day

Etheria: Restart Day

Xindong Network Mobile Game
Justice Online

Justice Online

NetEase PC MMO
Naruto

Naruto

Tencent Games Mobile Game
Testimonials

What Clients Say

Shaw really went deep into my game story and managed to understand the double meanings and subtexts in my story! Highly recommended.

J
Lead Developer
Indie PC Title
Indie

Really glad to be working with Shaw Thurlow. His professionalism and commitment to delivering high quality translation exceeded my expectations. He even actively tested the game and asked all the right questions to get the context needed to produce the best possible translation. Highly recommended.

O
Game Director
Indie Steam Release
Indie

We've shipped three content updates since Shaw took over the Chinese build. Not a single term has drifted. The lore, faction names, even book titles inside the game world — all consistent. That kind of discipline is rare.

B
Senior Producer
AAA RPG Franchise
AAA

Honestly, I wasn't sure a translator could keep up with how many moving parts our life-sim has. Shaw just got it. UI prompts, push notifications, character bios — everything reads like it was written for Chinese players, not translated for them.

K
Production Lead
AAA Life-Sim Project
AAA

Before he even touched the first string, Shaw sent us a list of worldbuilding questions. That's when I knew we were in good hands. Seven batches in, the terminology still holds up — our writers reference his glossary now.

H
Narrative Designer
Mobile Tactical RPG
Mobile

Shaw gets character voice. The way our protagonist talks versus a side NPC — that rhythm, that attitude — it survives the translation. Our long-time fans actually noticed in the first week. That doesn't happen often.

N
Localization Producer
Mobile Anime IP
Anime

Wuxia terminology is a nightmare — one wrong character and you break the immersion. Shaw built a glossary so thorough our own writers use it as a reference now. He didn't just translate the text, he understood the genre.

W
IP Director
PC MMO Wuxia
PC MMO

Shaw ran our entire Chinese localization solo — translation, QA, even helping us debug the engine's text encoding. One round of review and we were done. Steam Chinese reviews have been clean since launch. Couldn't have asked for more.

D
Studio Founder
Story-Driven PC Title
PC

We've thrown a lot at Shaw over the years — different genres, different engines, rotating project managers. He keeps the terminology consistent across all of it. That kind of continuity is exactly what you want from a long-term localization partner.

P
Publishing Lead
Multi-Title Partnership
Partner

Client names and project titles have been redacted to honor NDA agreements. All testimonials are from real projects.

Process

How We Work

A 6-step pipeline that has delivered 50+ titles across RPG, life-sim, MMO, and indie genres.

📋

Needs Assessment

We analyze your game's scope, genre, and target market to understand what localization approach fits best.

📚

Terminology Setup

A custom glossary is built for your game's universe: characters, lore, items, and UI terms.

✍️

Translation

Native-level translation with cultural adaptation, preserving your game's voice and tone.

🔍

Quality Assurance

Multi-pass review covering terminology consistency, context accuracy, and UI length constraints.

📦

Delivery

On-time delivery in your preferred format, ready for integration into your build pipeline.

🛠️

Post-Launch Support

Free revisions within 30 days, plus ongoing support for patches and updates.

Ready to Reach Chinese Players?

Get a free 500-word sample translation. No commitment required.

Get a Free Sample
ST
Senior Game Localization Specialist
EN ↔ CN AAA Indie LQA
50+
Shipped
AAA
Studio Backing
100%
On-time
5.0
Rated
About Me

Hi, I'm Shaw Thurlow

I translate games. I came into this from a software engineering background and fiction writing, with 15 years of gaming behind me. I got into localization because too many Chinese builds read like machine output, and as a player I found that hard to ignore. I've worked on titles like The Elder Scrolls with Bethesda, inZOI with KRAFTON, and more.

Software Engineering Background

Software Engineering degree. Technical expert with active GitHub projects. Reading source code, engine configs, and string tables is part of the job.

15 Years of Gaming Experience

30,000+ hours on Steam. A gamer-first translator who understands your game like a player, not just a translator.

Published Author Background

Former contracted author with millions of views. A writer's sensitivity to narrative and dialogue localization.

AAA Project Pedigree

Worked with Bethesda and KRAFTON. Localized titles like The Elder Scrolls Series and inZOI for global Chinese launches.

For Studios & Publishers

Agent-Assisted Localization Pipeline

A custom-built localization stack that combines adaptive workflows, agent-assisted drafting, and terminology governance. Designed for high-volume studio work where consistency, speed, and auditability matter.

Adaptive Workflow Engine

Each project gets the workflow that fits the content, the budget, and the quality bar. Agent-assisted drafting for scale, full human translation when voice matters, MTPE for speed.

3Workflow Modes

Speed Without Compromise

The workflow matches your release window without cutting corners on quality. Built for studios that need Chinese builds ready on schedule, without the usual localization bottleneck.

50+Projects Shipped

Terminology Governance

Dedicated termbases (TB) and translation memories (TM) keep terminology consistent across your franchise. Same IP, same terms, no drift between releases.

1,200+Terms in TES Glossary
Get in Touch

Let's Bring Your Game to China

A free quote within 24 hours. Tell me about your game and I'll tell you what's needed, no obligation.

shaw@localization.support
Reply within 24 hours
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