about 3 hours ago
Game Localization Lead - Japanese
Tokyo, Japan
full-timesenior Hybridvideo games
Tech Stack
Description
You will own the localization strategy, quality bar, and final sign-off for Japanese content across all 2K titles, shaping how players in Japanese regions experience our games. You will review and edit localized content, develop style guides, collaborate with cross-functional teams, and lead voiceover production.
Requirements
- 4–6+ years of professional localization experience in games, tech, or entertainment
- Native fluency in Japanese with demonstrated mastery of tone, grammar, and regional nuance
- Advanced English fluency (written and spoken)
- Proven ability to work independently on complex language projects
- Must be a highly engaged gaming enthusiast with extensive gaming/IP knowledge
- Strong working knowledge of platform-holder guidelines, naming conventions, and brand alignment principles
- Comfortable overseeing or mentoring junior linguists and freelance vendors
- Familiarity with localization tools (e.g., CAT tools, translation memory systems, XLOC, JIRA, CMS)
- Deep understanding of Japanese culture, media, and the Japanese-speaking gaming audience
- Experience with VO scripting, dubbing production, and linguistic performance direction is a plus
- Bachelor's degree in translation, linguistics, media, or related field preferred
Responsibilities
- Own the localization strategy, quality bar, and final sign-off for Japanese content across all 2K titles
- Review and edit localized content (in-game text, UI, scripts, VO) for tone, clarity, fluency, and cultural relevance
- Develop, maintain, and enforce glossaries, style guides, and cultural content policies for the Japanese market
- Select suitable fonts and resolve font-related issues
- Collaborate with LQA team on linguistic bugs
- Support age-rating team as necessary
- Collaborate with regional marketing team on marketing terminology, tag-lines, metadata, and review marketing texts
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to guide language decisions and alignment
- Serve as the main linguistic escalation point for Japanese-related bugs, tone disputes, or QA challenges
- Supervise and provide feedback to entry- and mid-level linguists or vendors
- Consult on Japan age rating requirements, terminology usage, and visual/language compliance
- Lead VO casting, script review, and direct creative sessions during Japanese voiceover production
- Regularly review in-development and near-final builds to audit for tone, consistency, and cultural resonance
- Recommend and implement process improvements
- Participate in Global Loc 2.0 initiatives
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