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Reposted by Thibault Ortega

Lucile Danilov @locdandloaded.net · 11d

Localization budgets tend to be a very well-guarded secret, but thanks to SGG's transparency, we can at least make an educated guess for Hades II: The cost of localizing the game's 380.000 words into 14 languages was approximately $1.5m.

Read more: www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

Hades II is now out of Early Access, earning a staggering 94 score on Metacritic. But beyond butter-smooth gameplay, incredible art and mesmerizing music, the game also stood out for its localization…...

Hades II is now out of Early Access, earning a staggering 94 score on Metacritic. But beyond butter-smooth gameplay, incredible art and mesmerizing music, the game also stood out for its localization ...

www.linkedin.com

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Thibault Ortega @tortegatrad.bsky.social · 15d

Massive thanks of course to Claire Stalter for LQA, as well as to Clémence Dieryck and Nina Sinigaglia for LQA, but also for helping me with the translation on the final stretch of the journey.

Thibault Ortega @tortegatrad.bsky.social · 15d

The time has finally come!
Words aren't enough to express how wonderful it's been to work on the French translation of @supergiantgames.bsky.social 's latest title.

Bonne chance pour tuer le Temps, et que la Lune éclaire votre chemin ⏳🌔

A cropped screenshot of the game's Main Menu credits, listing translators for a number of languages, including me for French.

A second cropped screenshot of the game's Main Menu credits, this time listing LQA testers for a number of languages. For French, the following names appear: Clémence Dieryck, Nina Sinigaglia, Claire Stalter. Clémence and Nina are also credited for Additional Translation.

A third and final screenshot of the game's Main Menu credits, this time showing a short disclaimer stating that no generative AI was used in the making of the game.

Full text in English:
This game was intentionally made by human beings. No generative AI was used in the creation of its artwork, voiceover, or any other content.

Full text in French:
Ce jeu, dans sa totalité, est le fruit des efforts d'êtres humains. Aucune IA générative n'a été impliquée dans la réalisation du doublage, des illustrations ou de tout autre contenu.

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Reposted by Thibault Ortega

Supergiant Games @supergiantgames.bsky.social · 22d

HADES II v1.0 arrives in less than one week!!🌒

It will be available worldwide at 9am PDT on Thursday, September 25, or your local time, on Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, Steam, and the Epic Games Store.

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Marc E.G. ★ Loc Madman @mittovac.bsky.social · Sep 6

. @teamcherry.bsky.social spent 7 years polishing Silksong to no end, yet so far we learned both the Chinese and French localizations have been botched.

Loc is an afterthought even in some of the most lovingly crafted titles. It's so fucking sad.

Whole audiences who can't enjoy your labor of love.

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Thibault Ortega @tortegatrad.bsky.social · Sep 5

I'm still in the first act of the game, but yes, the amount of errors I've seen that would've been caught just with basic proofreading is, unfortunately, quite high. More examples below (spoilers for very early-game content, mistakes explained in ALT)

Screenshot of the Hunter's March map, which can be purchased from a certain NPC.
The name of the area has been acceptably translated as "Sentier du Chasseur" in the world map UI. However, here, it has been translated as "Avancé du Chasseur", which 1) is a literal translation that is incorrect contextually, and 2) contains a typo ("avancé" as a noun is spelled "avancée").

Screenshot of the moment a player acquires the Silk Spear ability.

"Appuyer <button>" is grammatically incorrect. This should say "Appuyer sur <button>".

Screenshot of the description of the Memory Locket item.
- "Permets d'améliorer un emblème" should be "Permet d'améliorer un emblème"
- "Les emblèmes peuvent être améliorer [...]" -> "Les emblèmes peuvent être améliorés [...]".
Again, two basic errors that could've been caught with minimal proofreading.

Screenshot of a conversation with a certain NPC.
- "Je suis venue jusqu'à Pharloom [...] -> "Je suis venue à Pharloom [...]". The "jusqu'à" is superfluous here
- In French, many punctuation signs (in this case, question marks) must be preceded by a non-breaking space (this one also looks rather out-of-place here, a period would be more appropriate). I've seen this kind of error a few more times in other places, notably with colons
- A recurring issue in many many dialogues so far: the underuse of commas. I don't have access to the source text here but if we're to keep this particular phrasing, commas should be added after "moi" and "maintenant", like so: "Elle était plus rapide que moi, et maintenant, j'ai perdu sa trace".

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Reposted by Thibault Ortega

Brian Merchant @bcmerchant.bsky.social · Aug 21

Since 2023, translators and interpreters have seen work dry up, rates plummet and their jobs reduced to editing AI-generated output. Some are leaving the field, others are considering bankruptcy. All despite any major upgrade in translation quality.

This is how AI is killing translation work:

AI Killed My Job: Translators

Few industries have been hit by AI as hard as translation. Rates are plummeting. Work is drying up. Translators are considering abandoning the field, or bankruptcy. These are their stories.

www.bloodinthemachine.com

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Lucile Danilov @locdandloaded.net · Aug 4

The Gameloc Directory 2025 update is live! It now features a marker (★) highlighting entities with strict no MT/AI policies. locdandloaded.net/2020/10/22/g...

Gameloc Agency Directory

There are multiple ways of entering the game localization industry, and one of the most common ones is by working with agencies who are specialized in this particular niche. I have compiled a list of ...

locdandloaded.net

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Lucile Danilov @locdandloaded.net · Jul 15

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Geoffrey Crété @geoffreycrete.bsky.social · Jul 14

Le futur d'internet semble clair : les gens vont aller de plus en plus sur ChatGPT pour "poser leur question" et "avoir une réponse", ce qui contribuera encore à tuer les médias qui nourrissent l'IA pour former les "réponses"

How ChatGPT's growth
is driving change

The internet is in flux. Google’s dominance is being challenged as ChatGPT’s rapid growth reconfigures how consumers seek out news and information.

ChatGPT's app users have more than doubled in the last six months compared to the same period the previous year. While its web visitors also continue to grow, increasing by 52%.

For news publishers and aggregators, this shift signals a need to rethink distribution strategies. As more users turn to generative AI for real-time updates and conversational summaries, the traditional SEO-driven approach may be insufficient when it comes to capturing audience attention.

ChatGPT surges as a source for news while Google stalls

News-related queries on ChatGPT are rapidly increasing. Between January 2024 and May 2025, news-related prompts in ChatGPT rose by 212%, while equivalent Google searches declined by 5%.

A significant divergence started in late 2024, with ChatGPT usage accelerating sharply from January 2025 onward. This suggests users are increasingly turning to generative AI for real-time news insights. Meanwhile, Google’s flat-to-declining trend highlights shifting user preferences and the growing role of AI assistants in information retrieval.

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Margaux Saltel @margauxsaltel.bsky.social · Jul 11

Suite aux affiches en IA générative par la Mairie de Montpellier, nous publions une tribune, signée par plus de 150 artistes et travailleur•euses de l'art de la région.

@michaeldelafosse.bsky.social

En intégralité ici : framaforms.org/non-a-lutili...

1/4

Tribune
Non à l'utilisation de l'IA générative pour la communication de la Ville de Montpellier

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Robin Mar-Witch 🧙🏻‍♀️ @electricland.bsky.social · Jul 6

Stop spreading this garbage about em dashes in ACTUAL EDITED PROSE OH MY GOD.

Plenty of actual human beings know how to type em dashes! We’re called “writers” and “editors” — maybe you’ve heard of us?

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Maxime Haes @maximehaes.bsky.social · Jul 1

— Les Français : *souffrent de la canicule*

— Le gouvernement de droite :
« Astuces pour survivre à la canicule : soyez riches lol ».

Site du gouvernement « vivre avec la chaleur.fr » qui liste dans ses astuces : « si vos moyens financiers le permettent, louez pendant quelques jours un logement mieux isolé de la chaleur quelques jours ».

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Reposted by Thibault Ortega

Jérémie Kermarrec @jkermarrec.bsky.social · Jun 22

Tout est dit :
- Précarisation du domaine
- Épuisement moral des traducteurices
- Gain de temps quasi inexistant de la post-édition
- Ignorance des responsables qui l'imposent
- Appauvrissement de la langue
- Risque d'erreurs graves dans des domaines sensibles
- Disparition d'un savoir-faire ancien

01net @01net.com · Jun 22

Salaire divisé par deux, moins de contrats, perte de sens… Les traducteurs percutés de plein fouet par l’IA générative www.01net.com/actualites/s...

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Reposted by Thibault Ortega

𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐨𝐢𝐝 💫 Game localizers @fromthevoid.net · Jun 12

Dear translators, what's your favorite line you've ever localized, and why?

(Just trying to make a point & demonstrate how LLMs can't replace human translators, feel free to share)

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Reposted by Thibault Ortega

Lucile Danilov @locdandloaded.net · May 13

Here are my two cents on GenAI in #gameloc. Because we can't let the BS peddlers destroy our industry from within, and silence is complicity. locdandloaded.net/2025/05/13/h...

The Human Cost of AI

A couple of years ago, a good friend* achieved their lifelong dream: After a decade of grueling agency work, they had finally secured an in-house localization job on a game they loved. This was a high...

locdandloaded.net

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Reposted by Thibault Ortega

Supergiant Games @supergiantgames.bsky.social · May 6

On this day one year ago, we launched HADES II in Early Access!!🌒🌕🌘

It's been incredibly exciting and eye-opening as we've worked to realize the potential so many of you see in our game. Thank you for all your feedback and patience as we get closer to the finish line!

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Supergiant Games @supergiantgames.bsky.social · Dec 23

Season's greetings from the Crossroads!🎄🎁

Thank you for all your support of our team and Hades II this past year. For those playing in Early Access, please look forward to our second Major Update in early 2025. Until then, may moonlight guide you out there!🌒

The Silver Sisters decorate the Crossroads for the winter solstice. Happy holidays!

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Center for the Art of Translation @catranslation.org · Nov 26

Calling all translators! We're building a Bluesky starter pack for emerging and established translators—so that we can follow each other and be in community together on the World Wide Web. If you want to be included, add yourself to this thread, and share this post far and wide with your networks :)

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Thibault Ortega @tortegatrad.bsky.social · Nov 27

Room for one more? 👉👈
Video game translator (EN-FR)

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Final Fantasy Ring @ffring.com · Nov 22

Si le travail de traduction des jeux vidéo (et Final Fantasy) vous intéresse, Square Enix publie aujourd'hui la première partie d'une interview de l'équipe de localisation de #FFXVI. Ironie du sort, c'est en anglais, mais très intéressant : eu.finalfantasy.com/...

FINAL FANTASY XVI Localization Team Interview! Part 1 | TOPICS | FINAL FANTASY PORTAL SITE | SQUARE ENIX

FINAL FANTASY XVI just celebrated one year after its release on June 22, 2023, and the FF Portal staff got some time with the game’s localization t...

eu.finalfantasy.com

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Lucile Danilov @locdandloaded.net · Nov 21

It's that time again! Here's whether #TheGameAwards 2024 nominees (GOTY/Indie categories) include all #TranslatorsInTheCredits

Happy to report the situation has dramatically improved over the last few years, but these don't show the whole picture of #gameloc crediting state...

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Reposted by Thibault Ortega

𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐨𝐢𝐝 💫 Game localizers @fromthevoid.net · Nov 19

We made a starter kit for ethical game localization! Useful for translators wishing to connect with others and for game devs, or anyone interested in game loc really 🤍

Feel free to share and let us know if you'd like to be included! 💫
go.bsky.app/3wN9Ep5

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Thibault Ortega @tortegatrad.bsky.social · Nov 15

Hello Bluesky! I'm Thibault, a freelance translator (EN -> FR) specializing in video game localization. I am notably credited for my work in the HADES duology.

I don't know how often I'll be posting here yet but I WILL be active around these parts. Fellow translators feel free to reach out!

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