Gameloft removes language barriers, maximizes player collaboration with Translator, part of Azure Cognitive Services

Connecting players around the world

Online games connect players from around the world with engrossing entertainment, gripping strategies, and communities that are passionate about gaming. Gameloft has positioned itself at the forefront of these communities by designing innovative games for more than 20 years. It’s a leader in mobile games and has won numerous awards for games created across different genres in game studios all around the world.

Gameloft Sofia, a studio based in Bulgaria, produces some of the company’s most popular and beloved games. The studio is known for its real-time strategy games, such as March of Empires and War Planet Online. When Gameloft Sofia was first developing March of Empires in 2015, the studio envisioned a highly interactive game with nuanced alliances and real-time communication among players in multiple countries. To make that possible, the studio needed accurate, instant text translation for all in-game communications, including personal messages and global chat.

Gameloft adopted Translator, part of Microsoft Azure Cognitive Services, to perform text-to-text translation in more than 100 languages. “We might have 20,000 players at once from every possible country you can imagine, so the language barrier is a very big challenge,” says Evgeni Tenev, Senior Game Producer at Gameloft Sofia. “We needed to provide an accurate, convenient way for gamers to communicate with one another, and to us, the only logical solution was Translator.”

Bringing a mini universe to life

By using Translator, Gameloft made in-game communication seamless. March of Empires players in more than 180 countries can choose from 17 supported languages for the game UX, but for in-game, text-based communications, the studio uses Translator for more than 100 languages. As a result, players don’t have to sacrifice the richness of the experience, and speakers of all languages still learn the unique vocabulary that is so crucial to gameplay. “Each game is like a mini universe, and often, the more complex the game, the more extensive the vocabulary and slang,” says Danail Danov, Game Community Manager at Gameloft Sofia. “Games have their own terminology, and as you play and get familiar with the vernacular, you can start talking to each other in the same lingo. With Translator in the games, all players can be a part of that mini universe.”

Now, players of any language can feel fully connected to the gameplay and other players. Effective, accurate translation is important for hooking players, both for their own enjoyment and for Gameloft to build its player base and long-term loyalty. By using Translator from the beginning, the company added loyal players that it might have lost otherwise. While players are often excited to try new games, they’re unlikely to come back if they have a negative experience or an essential gameplay component doesn’t work. “Most people want to try a new game early on, and if language is a barrier for them, they won’t return to play no matter how many updates you make,” says Tenev.

Strengthening a global community

One of Gameloft’s challenges before in-game translation was that players could only feasibly create alliances with other players who spoke the same language, often in the same country. They didn’t have organic opportunities to build relationships or the full scope of players to interact with, and those alliances were often short-lived. “We saw alliances fall apart in other games, and we wondered how to solve it,” says Tenev. “Including more players of different nationalities and languages is the spice of the game. With Translator, players make real connections and build friendships that last a very long time.”

Gameloft is happy with the accuracy of the translations, which has expanded players’ ability to communicate with each other. “In terms of quality and accuracy, Translator provides everything that we currently need in the game for players to have fun, learn the right terminology, and keep coming back to play,” says Tenev. Plus, Translator doesn’t store the text data from the game, which adds a level of data security and privacy for Gameloft and its customers. “From a technical and legal perspective, it’s an added bonus that data isn’t retained, and it’s easier to comply with data regulations,” says Nikolay Dimitrov, Technical Director at Gameloft.

Respecting sensitive language for more inclusivity and accessibility

Players not only enjoy competition with other players, but part of the fun is also good-natured ribbing in chat. Playful banter adds to the richness of the experience when it’s not taken too far. Gameloft takes advantage of the profanity checker feature in Translator to filter out offensive words and help maintain a positive environment.

Gameloft wants to help ensure that words and terminology that are sensitive with certain audiences aren’t used. For example, a player from one region might jokingly use the term “libertarian” or “conservative liberal” in a way that can be interpreted as derisive. “The profanity checker feature in Translator is incredibly important for us,” says Tenev. “But often, geopolitical words are even more critical than profane words. A player might say something with good intentions but doesn’t necessarily realize how sensitive a name or topic might be in another country, so we appreciate having this level of control.” Gameloft is interested in exploring more features in the future, too, including custom translation and speech-to-text to further improve inclusiveness and accessibility.

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