AI Game Translation: How to Mod & Translate Game Files

8/11/2025

So, you’ve got a game you absolutely love, but it’s not in your native language. Or maybe you’re a developer looking to expand your game’s reach to a global audience. In the past, this meant either waiting for an official localization, which might never come, or embarking on a massive, time-consuming fan translation project. But here's the thing: AI is completely changing the game, literally.

Using AI to translate game files is no longer a futuristic dream; it's happening right now, & it's more accessible than you might think. We're not just talking about pointing your phone's camera at the screen & getting a clunky, real-time translation. We're talking about actually modifying the game files to create a proper language mod. It's a pretty cool intersection of technology, gaming, & passion, & I'm going to walk you through how it's done.

This isn't a simple "click one button & you're done" kind of process. It takes a bit of technical know-how, some patience, & a willingness to experiment. But if you're up for it, the results can be AMAZING. We'll cover everything from ripping the game's text files to using advanced AI tools to translate them, & then getting them back into the game.

So, grab a coffee, get comfortable, & let's dive into the exciting world of AI-powered game translation.

The Big Picture: How Does This Even Work?

Before we get into the nitty-gritty, let's take a high-level look at the process. At its core, translating a game with AI involves a few key stages:

Extraction: The first, & often most challenging, step is getting the game's text out of its files. Game developers don't just leave their dialogue in a convenient
1.txt
file for you. It's usually packed away in proprietary file formats specific to the game engine.
Translation: This is where the AI comes in. Once you have the text, you can use a variety of AI-powered tools & services to translate it into your desired language. We'll talk about the different options, from real-time screen readers to powerful translation APIs.
Re-integration/Patching: After the text is translated, you need to get it back into the game. This can involve re-packing the game files or using a mod loader to apply a real-time translation patch.

It's important to remember that this isn't a perfect science. You'll likely run into some bumps along the road, & the quality of the final translation will depend on a variety of factors, including the tools you use, the complexity of the game's language, & how much manual editing you're willing to do.

The Tools of the Trade: Your AI Translation Arsenal

The good news is that you don't have to build your own AI from scratch. There are a number of incredible tools out there that can do the heavy lifting for you. Let's take a look at some of the most popular options.

For the "Get It Done Quick" Approach: Real-Time Screen Translators

If you're looking for the path of least resistance & just want to understand what's happening in a game, a real-time screen translator might be all you need. These tools work by using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to "read" the text on your screen & then feed it to a translation service.

RSTGameTranslation: This is a fantastic, free tool that's gaining a lot of popularity. It supports multiple OCR engines & can connect to various AI translation services, including Gemini, ChatGPT, & even a local, offline model with Ollama. The cool thing about RSTGameTranslation is that it allows you to provide context, like the name of the game, which can significantly improve the quality of the translations.
Tap to Translate Screen: For mobile gamers, this is a great option. It works as an overlay, allowing you to tap on any part of the screen to translate the text in real-time.

The big advantage of these tools is their simplicity. You don't need to mess with the game files at all. The downside is that the translations can be a bit clunky & you're at the mercy of the OCR's accuracy. It's a great way to get the gist of a story, but it's not the same as a proper, integrated translation.

For the "Do It Right" Approach: The Modder's Toolkit

If you're serious about creating a high-quality language mod, you'll need to roll up your sleeves & work with the game files directly. This is where tools designed for modding come into play.

XUnity.AutoTranslator: If you're working with a game made in the Unity engine, this tool is an absolute MUST. It's an advanced plugin that can automatically translate a game in real-time. It works by hooking into the game with a mod loader like BepInEx & then intercepts the game's text to send it to a translation service.
DeepL API: When it comes to translation quality, DeepL is often considered the king. Its neural machine translation service is incredibly accurate & nuanced. Many of the more advanced translation tools, including XUnity.AutoTranslator, can be configured to use the DeepL API. DeepL even offers a free tier that allows you to translate up to 500,000 characters per month, which is more than enough for many smaller projects.
Textractor: This is a powerful tool for extracting text from visual novels & other text-heavy games. It can be a bit tricky to set up, but once you get it working, you can pipe the extracted text directly into a translation service like DeepL.

The beauty of this approach is that you're creating a much more polished & immersive experience. The translated text appears in the game's UI just like the original text, & you have the ability to go in & manually edit the translations for accuracy & style.

The Step-by-Step Guide to Your First AI Translation Mod

Alright, let's get down to business. Here's a general workflow you can follow to create your own AI-powered language mod. Keep in mind that the exact steps will vary depending on the game & the tools you're using, but this should give you a good roadmap.

Step 1: Research & Reconnaissance

Before you even think about touching the game files, you need to do your homework. The first thing you need to figure out is what engine the game was made in. This will determine which tools you can use. A quick search on Google or a look at the game's community forums should give you the answer.

You should also see if there are any existing translation projects for the game. Even if they're not complete, they can be a valuable source of information & tools. The modding community is often very collaborative, & you might find that someone has already done a lot of the heavy lifting for you.

Step 2: Extracting the Goods (The Text Files)

This is often the most technically challenging part of the process. Game developers package their assets, including text files, into compressed archives. Your job is to unpack these archives & find the files that contain the game's text.

For Unity Games: Tools like UABE (Unity Assets Bundle Extractor) are your best friend here. They can open up the
1.assets
files & allow you to export the text assets. You'll often find the game's text in files with names like
1dialogue.json
or
1localization.csv
.
For Unreal Engine Games: Unreal Engine games typically use
1.pak
files to store their assets. You'll need a tool like UnrealPak or FModel to extract the contents of these files. The text is often stored in
1.uasset
or
1.json
files.

Once you've extracted the text files, take some time to look at their structure. Is the text in a simple list of strings? Or is it a more complex format with keys & values? Understanding the structure of the files will be crucial for the next step.

Step 3: The Magic of AI Translation

Now for the fun part! Once you have your text files, it's time to let the AI work its magic. There are a few ways you can approach this:

The Manual Approach: You can simply copy & paste the text into a web-based translator like Google Translate or DeepL. This is the most straightforward method, but it can be very time-consuming for large games.
The Scripting Approach: If you're comfortable with a bit of scripting, you can use the DeepL API to automate the translation process. You can write a simple script in a language like Python to read your text files, send the text to the DeepL API, & then save the translated text to a new file. This is a much more efficient way to handle large amounts of text.
The All-in-One Tool Approach: If you're using a tool like XUnity.AutoTranslator, you can often skip the manual extraction & translation process altogether. These tools can be configured to automatically translate the game's text in real-time.

A Quick Word on Context: This is SUPER important. AI translators are amazing, but they're not perfect. They can sometimes miss the nuance & context of a piece of text, leading to awkward or incorrect translations. This is especially true for things like character names, item descriptions, & puns.

Whenever possible, try to provide context to your AI translator. Some tools, like RSTGameTranslation, have a dedicated feature for this. If you're using the DeepL API, you can use the "glossary" feature to create a list of custom translation rules. For example, you can tell DeepL to always translate a specific character's name the same way.

Step 4: The Human Touch (Editing & Refining)

Here's a hard truth: no matter how good the AI is, you're probably going to need to do some manual editing. AI is a fantastic tool for getting a first draft of your translation, but it's not a replacement for a human's understanding of language & culture.

Once you have your translated text, read through it carefully. Look for any awkward phrasing, grammatical errors, or translations that just don't make sense in the context of the game. This is also your chance to add your own creative flair to the translation.

This is where the "human-in-the-loop" approach really shines. Let the AI do the bulk of the work, & then come in & add that final layer of polish. It's a powerful combination that can save you a ton of time while still producing a high-quality result.

This is actually pretty similar to how many businesses are starting to use AI in their customer service. They might use a platform like Arsturn to build a custom AI chatbot that can handle common customer questions 24/7. The chatbot can provide instant answers based on the company's own data, but if a customer has a more complex issue, the chatbot can seamlessly hand them off to a human agent. It's all about using AI to augment human capabilities, not replace them.

Step 5: Putting It All Back Together (Re-integration & Patching)

Once you're happy with your translated text, it's time to get it back into the game. The way you do this will depend on the game & the tools you're using.

Re-packing the Files: If you manually extracted the game files, you'll need to re-pack them into their original format. This can be a bit tricky, & you'll need to use the same tools you used for extraction.
Using a Mod Loader: For many games, the easiest way to apply your translation is to use a mod loader like BepInEx. You can create a simple patch that tells the game to load your translated text files instead of the original ones.
Real-Time Patching: If you're using a tool like XUnity.AutoTranslator, the patching is done in real-time. The tool simply intercepts the game's text as it's being displayed & replaces it with the translated version.

The Future of Game Translation is a Conversation

What's really exciting about all of this is that it's just the beginning. AI technology is advancing at an incredible pace, & it's only going to get better. We're already seeing tools that can translate text in real-time with impressive accuracy, & it's not hard to imagine a future where we have AI-powered tools that can also translate voice acting & even modify in-game assets to match the translated text.

But beyond the technology itself, what's really powerful is the way it's empowering gamers & developers to connect with each other across language barriers. For years, language has been a major obstacle in the gaming world, but now, thanks to AI, that barrier is starting to crumble.

And honestly, that's what it's all about, right? Creating connections & sharing experiences. It's the same reason why a business might use a tool like Arsturn to build a no-code AI chatbot for their website. It's not just about providing customer support; it's about creating a more personalized & engaging experience for their visitors. It's about starting a conversation, & AI is becoming an increasingly powerful tool for doing just that.

So, whether you're a gamer who's passionate about sharing your favorite game with a wider audience or a developer who wants to connect with players from all over the world, I hope this guide has been helpful. The world of AI-powered game translation is a fascinating & rapidly evolving field, & I can't wait to see what the community creates next.

Let me know what you think! Have you ever tried to translate a game with AI? What was your experience like? Share your stories in the comments below