By LangLink UK Connie
When considering your target game audience, the European market is certainly a gamer pool that you should not miss. Without a doubt, Europe, with its strong gaming culture and significant spending power, is a high-value market for game localization. In 2024, this gaming market was valued at US$42.22 billion, with its revenue projected to reach US$84.91 billion in 2025. The number of players in the 5 major European markets (UK, Germany, Spain, France, and Italy) is a massive sum of 124.4 million. European players are game lovers you should target—on average, they spend 8.9 hours per week playing video games.
But still, Europe is a broad market with a multilingual gaming audience and it could be hard to cover all the languages there. So, we have analyzed for you the top 5 languages to prioritize for game localization in Europe, namely EFIGS (English, France, Italy, German, and Spanish) localization:
1. English (UK)
English is a global default when we come across localization, so of course we could not have missed it here as well. With the United Kingdom being the largest video game market in Europe, it just makes more sense to have your games localized to English—but be aware of the difference between en-US and en-UK. Though the former seems more often opted as the target language in localization, it could not be directly used in the UK market and requires certain cultural adaptation.
2. French (France)
France’s gaming market is the 7th largest in the world, which gives you a solid reason to have a French version of your games. Besides, French is also a commonly spoken language in Europe. Your French version may also be provided to gamers in other European countries like Belgium, or even Canada in another continent. But just like English, a certain level of cultural adaptation is necessary.
3. German (Germany)
Revenue in the games market in Germany is a big deal too, projected to reach US$13.14 billion in 2025. Similar to French, German is not only spoken in Germany, so with proper cultural adaptation, localizing your game to German will be a key to entering markets in countries like Austria and Switzerland as well.
4. Spanish (Spain)
With over US$1.43 billion in annual revenue, Spain’s gaming market is the 6th biggest in Europe and a good one to invest in with game localization. Not to mention the fact that Spanish is well-known as the 2nd most widely spoken native language globally, which further proves the need to have Spanish versions of your game adapting to different branches of Spanish.
5. Italian (Italy) or Polish (Poland)
In Italy, a shift in the public feelings on games and a range of government incentives aids the growth of its gaming market; while in Poland, there is a rise of independent game developers following the success of some games and events. There is great potential in these two European gaming markets that you can enter with Italian and Polish localization.
By investing in game localization in Europe to provide dedicated language versions to European gamers, you can remove the language barriers and create a more immersive experience with localized content that has taken care of the linguistic and cultural nuances and just feels natural to local players, who in return will show higher satisfaction and loyalty. It can improve player retention and monetization in the European markets.
If you are still hesitating about whether or not to conduct EFIGS localization, here’s a successful story that may encourage you to take your first step. The well-received game Final Fantasy XIV, developed by Japanese game publisher Square Enix, is localized into English, German, and French. Their localization approach is to do it to the fullest—all interfaces, audio, and subtitles are thoroughly localized. Each language has its dedicated team, which plays an active role in naming skills and locations, contributing ideas for new creatures based on its own culture, and performing cultural checks to identify potential issues in the game story. Such effort and emphasis in creating an immersive gaming experience with these European languages bring fruitful returns. Final Fantasy XIV is the most profitable game in the series to date and a great success in Europe, with 20% of daily active players there, compared to 15% from Japan.
In short, Europe is a market worth exploring with game localization. Why not start today with some top languages for game localization in this region (i.e. EFIGS localization) to expand your business to the European gaming market and target its multilingual gaming audience?
A little help from the professionals will make it easier for you to start this journey. At LangLink, we provide the dedicated game localization solutions you need from game localization and dubbing to LQA services. We cover various languages, including EFIGS languages, and are committed to delivering high-quality work that you can trust. Contact us to learn more!
Reference
[1] EUROPE GAMING MARKET FORECAST 2025-2032. (2025, February 14). Inkwood Research. https://www.inkwoodresearch.com/reports/europe-gaming-market/
[2] Games – Europe | Statista Market Forecast. (2025). Statista. https://www.statista.com/outlook/amo/media/games/europe
[3] All about Video Games EUROPEAN KEY FACTS 2023. (n.d.). https://www.videogameseurope.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Video-Games-Europe-2023-Key-Facts-Report_FINAL.pdf
[4] All about Video Games EUROPEAN KEY FACTS 2023. (n.d.). https://www.videogameseurope.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Video-Games-Europe-2023-Key-Facts-Report_FINAL.pdf
[5] About the videogames industry. (2022). Equity. https://www.equity.org.uk/advice-and-support/sector-specific-advice/video-games/working-as-a-video-game-performer/about-the-games-industry
[6] The Gaming Market in France | Allcorrect. (2025). Allcorrect Games. https://allcorrectgames.com/insights/the-gaming-market-in-france/
[7] Games – Germany | Statista Market Forecast. (2025). Statista. https://www.statista.com/outlook/amo/media/games/germany
[8] Topic: Video gaming in Spain. (2024). Statista. https://www.statista.com/topics/6035/video-gamimg-in-spain/?form=MG0AV3
[9] Topic: Video gaming in Italy. (2023). Statista. https://www.statista.com/topics/8006/video-gaming-in-italy/?form=MG0AV3
[10] Topic: Gaming in Poland. (2024). Statista. https://www.statista.com/topics/5483/gaming-in-poland/?form=MG0AV3
[11] SQUARE. (2021). FINAL FANTASY XIV Localization Team Interview! Part 1 | TOPICS | FINAL FANTASY PORTAL SITE | SQUARE ENIX. FINAL FANTASY PORTAL SITE | SQUARE ENIX. https://na.finalfantasy.com/topics/265
[12] Kim, M. (2021, November 1). Final Fantasy 14 Surpasses 24 Million Players, Becomes Most Profitable Final Fantasy Game In the Series. IGN. https://www.ign.com/articles/final-fantasy-14-24-million-players-most-profitable
[13] Final Fantasy XIV Live Player Count and Statistics. (2022, September 26). https://activeplayer.io/final-fantasy-xiv/
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