Building a Game Development Practice at TransPerfect
TransPerfect is known for localization and translation. So if your first reaction to "TransPerfect Games" was, "Wait... the language company is making games now?" that's understandable. But the leap is shorter than it might seem.
Localization at scale requires deep production discipline. You're managing complex pipelines, multiple platforms, tight deadlines, and the kind of cross-functional coordination that can derail teams that aren’t prepared for it.
The infrastructure, processes, and people that TransPerfect has built to do that well turn out to be a strong foundation for something broader. Building on those strengths, and applying them specifically to game development support, is what TransPerfect Games is here to do.
The team behind that effort brings that same production discipline from a different angle. In my case, that story starts with Windows 2000.
Where We're Coming From
I started my career on Windows 2000, joining a team that was already years past its ship date and laser-focused on one thing: getting out the door.
That meant being ruthless about risk, fixing only what absolutely had to be fixed, and understanding at a granular level what "locked down and ready to ship" actually looks like. That mentality got burned into me early and never really left.
My first experience working with an external game development partner at Microsoft was an education in a different way. I assumed every development team approached shipping with that same discipline.
They didn't.
Not because they lacked talent, but because knowing when to stop fixing things and start shipping is a skill in itself. I had to challenge my own assumptions and learn what it takes to lock something down with a team that had never had to think about it that way.
That experience stuck with me through 25 years of shipping software across Windows, mobile, and VR/AR. And it's also the perspective we’re building this practice around.
I'm also aware this is a strange moment to be talking about growth in games. A lot of talented people I respect have been affected by the layoffs of the last couple of years. I don't have a neat transition from that into a business pitch. I just think it's worth acknowledging before I make one.
What's Actually Hard About Working with External Partners
In my experience, the partners that caused the most problems weren't the ones that lacked technical ability. They were the ones that said yes before they fully understood what they were agreeing to.
It's a familiar pattern. A studio needs work done. They talk to a few vendors. The vendors, eager to win the work, scope it quickly and optimistically. Nobody is asking the uncomfortable questions. The project starts. Then reality arrives.
The difference isn't always catching everything upfront. Sometimes you can't know what you're dealing with until you're inside it. What matters is how quickly you recognize the problems when they surface, and whether you have the experience to address them before they compound. That comes from having shipped real products and knowing where things tend to go wrong.
That's the experience we're bringing to this practice.
What We're Trying to Build
The honest answer is: a lot.
Porting is a natural starting point. It's specific, well-defined, and an area where the gap between "we can do that" and "we understand what that actually involves" is often wider than people expect. But the broader goal is to support game development end to end, across whatever a studio actually needs, without the overhead or the distant, hands‑off dynamic you get from vendors who haven’t lived inside real production pipelines.
TransPerfect's existing infrastructure is a genuine asset in ways that aren't immediately obvious.
Localization, QA, and player support aren’t afterthoughts when you're building or shipping a game. Having those capabilities integrated, rather than sourced separately, creates real operational advantages, even if they’re not the first things people associate with the company name.
But what we’re trying to build is simpler than any of that.
A practice where the first conversation is honest. Where we move quickly because we've seen enough projects to know what to look for. Where the people working on your game have shipped real products and understand what that requires.
That's not a radical idea. It's just rarer than it should be.
Let’s change that.
If you're looking for a game development partner that understands what it takes to ship real products, let's talk. Contact us to discuss your project, or learn more about TransPerfect's game development and porting services.