Thai Game Localization: Unlocking the Thai Market for Your Game

With a population of over 70 million, coupled with a blossoming game market, Thailand offers huge opportunities for game developers around the world seeking new audiences. But before that, understanding the dynamics of the Thai market in terms of genre preferences, playing habits, and technical challenges that one might face is a step in the right direction.

This article will describe how Thai game localization can be a real foot in the door to success in Thailand, outlining some useful strategies that video game developers can use to grasp local gamers’ attention.

Take a Peek at the Thai Game Market

Over the past few years, Thailand's gaming industry has grown. This is an increase not only in players but also in the kinds and qualities of games, together with the technology used in making these games.

In 2023, it was known that Thailand was one of the leading countries dealing with competitive esports gaming. Incredibly, during that year, there was an overwhelming participation by professional players, including popular game titles like PUBG, which reached a total of 223 professional players. Then there were Free Fire—whose number of professional players came in at 193—and Arena of Valor, which had 186.

A Newzoo report indicated that Thailand ranked 19th in the world by revenue generated from the gaming industry, at $1.1 billion. This places Thailand as the second-largest market for gaming in Southeast Asia, next to Indonesia, reportedly going to be worth US$1.8 billion by 2022.

This position reflects the great potential and rapid growth of the gaming industry in Thailand. It is also supported by data from the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPA) that, by 2022, the digital content industry in Thailand will have a total value of more than 40,000 million baht.

This digital content industry covers various sectors, including games, animation, and other digital applications. Of the total value of the digital content industry, the games industry contributed around 34,000 million baht, which means the games industry constitutes 85% of the total value of the digital content industry in Thailand.

Meanwhile, the latest data from Statista shows that the gaming market in Thailand is expected to reach revenues of US$2,167.00 million (around 76,863 million baht) in 2024. The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the gaming market in Thailand is projected at 7.32% between 2024 and 2029. Based on these projections, the market volume in Thailand is expected to reach US$3,085.00 million in 2029.

With market value expected to continue to increase, this is a door of opportunity for foreign gaming companies to expand their reach. However, you need to invest in proper Thai game localization, including language translation, UI adjustments, and cultural adaptation, so that your product can be well-received by local players.

Thai Esport Is on the Rise

Gaming and esports are huge in Thailand. According to Mintel, a leading global expert on market intelligence, more than 76 percent of Thai consumers spend at least an hour playing games daily.

Moreover, 36% of players play for two to four hours a day. While the gaming and esports world firmly belongs to young people, the lockdown period has still helped more people across different demographics engage in these activities.

The gaming habit that had increased during this quarantine period has apparently continued to increase, so that more and more people of different age groups are interested and active in playing games and participating in esports.

Thai Gamer Stats & Demographics

Another insight that you should also know before investing in Thai game localization is knowledge about the geography and player statistics in this market:

Gaming Among the Younger Generation

According to a Rakuten Insight survey in April 2022, 82.8% of respondents aged 16 to 24 in Thailand admitted that they play online games, reflecting the high popularity of gaming among the younger generation.

The survey also showed that half of the respondents played online games every day, and almost 41% of them played for 1–2 hours in one session. This illustrates how deeply involved and dedicated the younger generation of Thailand is to online gaming.

Game Popularity Among Adults

Interestingly, data from Mintel shows that interest in gaming is also increasing among older Thais. While all age groups showed increases in playing time, the largest increases occurred among those aged 45 and over.

More than a third (37%) of older adults report increased playtime during the pandemic. According to Global Health Aging, older adults play games to reduce stress, maintain mental sharpness, interact with others, and entertain themselves.

Genres

If one were to delineate between the male and female gamers in Thailand, an interesting trend that the female gamers identify when comparing their peers is much more into playing games on mobile devices, which places the men a step ahead of them in terms of dominance over other devices like PCs and consoles.

According to Mintel’s research, as many as 71% of Thai women play games to reduce stress. These findings follow the results of Mintel research on Attitudes towards Mental Health – Thai Consumers – 2022, which revealed that women in Thailand tend to experience stress more easily than men.

Therefore, it is not surprising that games designed with calming visual elements and sound effects that aid relaxation are favorites among women. For example, in Ragnarok Origin Mobile, one of the best MMORPG games in Thailand, the graphics are designed in a cartoon style with a "funny" nuance.

Tips for Successful Thai Game Localization

With the gamer population continuing to grow, international gaming companies have a great opportunity to succeed in this market. Here are some tips to ensure the successful game localization in Thailand:

1. Respect Local Culture and Regulations

One of the important tips for successful game localization in Thailand is to respect local culture and bureaucracy. Why is this so important? Even a large and established company like LINE, which has become a leader in Thailand's app market, has had serious problems with the local government regarding "culturally insensitive stickers" on their messaging platform.

This matter shows that cultural insensitivity can have significant consequences. Therefore, it is important for foreign game developers to conduct in-depth research on politics, cultural norms, and local sensitivities before launching their product in Thailand.

Is there any other way to avoid similar errors? One effective strategy is to establish partnerships with local influencers. Local influencers not only understand the culture and preferences of their audience but can also help introduce your game in a way that is more authentic and well-received by the local community.

2. Adjust Your Game Application for Mid-Range Devices

Although many smartphone users in Thailand have switched to devices with higher specifications, many still use models with limited memory or storage. Additionally, although the 3G/4G network in Thailand is quite good, data costs remain an important factor for many people.

How can you ensure your game is accessible to all users? One way is to optimize the initial APK size and total application size. Try to keep the total app size under 1 GB, especially if your game has high graphics.

Is this enough? Not completely. In addition to keeping app sizes manageable, it's also important to ensure your games run smoothly on phones with smaller memory. This will help prevent crashes, lag, poor rendering, and negative user experiences, which can leave players frustrated and abandoning your game.

3. Thai Game Localization in Language and Tone

In Thailand, it is often acceptable to use a name or term in English, especially if the word is new to the local culture, has no direct translation, or if the translation is too long and complicated. For example, words like "Ragnarok" or "Free Fire" are often still used in English. This is because English is taught as a compulsory foreign language in all secondary schools in Thailand.

For example, some in-game character names may remain displayed in English along with other text that has been translated into Thai. Likewise, the names of items in the in-game shop can be displayed in English with Thai translations to ensure proper understanding.

Although not everything is translated into Thai, it is important not to completely rely on word-for-word translations or machine translations. Why is that?

While machine translations can be fast, they often don't capture the right context and nuances. Instead, you need to engage a Thai game localization agency with a team of native speakers of the language to check the translations, which is very important to ensure that everything is accurate and contextual.

4. Adapting to Local Cultural Nuances

Thai players tend to be more interested in games or apps that reflect their own culture and feel as if they were made specifically for them. Therefore, developers often include local cultural elements, such as characters or costumes, that reflect traditions and daily life in Thailand.

For instance, characters in the game can wear traditional Thai clothing, which makes the game feel more familiar and appealing to local players. Additionally, creating in-game events related to local celebrations or traditions is an effective strategy.

How to do it? One example is holding special events related to Thai festivals, such as Songkran and Thai New Year. You can add a game mode that involves water fights, which are part of the Songkran celebrations.

5. Localize Prices

Adjusting prices is one of the key strategies for success in Thai game localization. Why is this so important? Consumers in Thailand generally have lower disposable incomes compared to developed countries, so getting pricing right is critical.

Offer starter packages at very affordable prices, usually less than US$1. In fact, a sub-dollar pricing strategy can be very effective in attracting new users in Thailand.

Why does this work? The minimum price for apps and games in Thailand hovers around TH฿10 (approximately US$0.33), which is very affordable for many consumers. By setting prices in line with local purchasing power, you not only make your game more accessible but also increase the chances of attracting more players.

Final Thoughts

Seeing rapid development, Thailand still has many opportunities to continue to progress. We hope that these tips will give you a strong foundation for adapting to this dynamic and exciting new market. With the right strategy and collaboration with an expert Thai game localization agency, you can tap into the huge potential that exists in Thailand and ensure success in entering this fast-growing market.