This paper provides a thorough evaluation of the Arabic localisation of The Witcher 3, a well-known video game in the Arab world. It analyses three game assets including the User Interface (UI), cinematics and voice-overs. To this end, the researcher collected two multimodal corpora of screenshots and video recordings taken from the actual video game. The data was analysed in two stages. The first stage involved categorizing the content of the two corpora into two main groups: UI and cinematics. The second stage included linguistic, technical, and cultural analysis of the collected screenshots and video recordings. It was revealed that the game was successfully localised from a linguist perspective but failed culturally and technically. Several taboo visuals and themes were kept in the Arabic video game, which violates the norms of the target culture. On a technical level, the UI and the menus in the Arabic version of the game were not designed to accommodate Arabic right-to-left (RTL) UI orientation, which resulted in several layout issues hindering the gaming experience. This study contributes to current research on Arabic video game localisation and provides useful information to video game developers and Arabic localisers.

Keywords: Arabic Videogame localisation; The Witcher 3; Videogame localisation quality; Video game translation

Al-Ajarmeh, O., & Al-Adwan, A. (2022). Insights into blending game localisation in the Arab world: Arafiesta as a case study. The Journal of Internationalization and Localization, 9(1), 61-84.

Abu Kishek, M. (2016). The Arabic localization of video games: An analysis of translation and localization practices of selected linguistic assets. Yarmouk University. Master's thesis.

Al-Batineh, M. (2021). Issues in Arabic video game localization: A descriptive study. Translation and Interpreting, 23(2), 45-64. https://doi.org/10.12807/ti.113202.2021.a03

Al-Batineh, M., & Alawneh, R. (2022). Current trends in localizing video games into Arabic: localization levels and gamers’ preferences. Perspectives, 30(2), 323-342. https://doi.org/10.1080/0907676X.2021.1926520

Al-Batineh, M., & Alawneh, R. (2021). Translation hacking in Arabic video game localization. Translation Spaces, 10(2), 202-230. https://doi.org/10.1075/ts.20051.alb

Al-Batineh, M. (2023). The Localization of Food- and Drink-Related Items in Video Games: The Case of The Witcher 3 in Arabic. Digital Translation, 10(1), 36-56.

Al-Mazrooa, N. (2018). Arabic localization: Key case studies for Translation Studies. Cardiff University. Ph.D. thesis.

Alotaibi, A., & Tuhaitah, Z. (2021). An overview of the localization of video games into Arabic. The Journal of Internationalization and Localization, 8(1), 26-47. https://doi.org/10.1075/jial.20008.goa

Bernal-Merino, M. (2015). Translation and localization in video games: Making entertainment software global. Routledge.

Chandler, H., & Deming, S. (2012). The game localization handbook. (2nd ed.). Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

Chaume, F. (2018). Is audiovisual translation putting the concept of translation up against the ropes? JosTrans, 30, 84-104.

Christou, C., McKearney, M., & Warden, W. (2011). Enabling the localization of large Role-Playing games. TRANS: Revista de Traductología, 15, 39-51.

Holmes, S. (2018). The rhetoric of videogames as embodied practice: Procedural habits. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203731260

Newman, D., & Husni, R. (2013). A to Z of Arabic-English-Arabic translation. Saqi Books.

Jiménez-Crespo, M. (2013). Translation and web localization. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203520208

Mangiron, C. (2007). Video Games Localization: Posing New Challenges to the Translator. Perspectives, 14(4), 306-323. https://doi.org/10.1080/09076760708669046

Mangiron, C. (2012). The localization of Japanese video games: Striking the right balance. The Journal of Internationalization and Localization, 2(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1075/jial.2.01man

Mangiron, C., & O’Hagan, M. (2006). Game localisation: Unleashing imagination with ‘restricted’ translation. Journal of Specialised Translation, 6, 10–21.

Mejías-Climent, L. (2021). Enhancing video game localisation through dubbing. London: Palgrave Macmillan Cham.

O’Hagan, M., & Mangiron, C. (2013). Game localisation: Translating for the global digital entertainment industry. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company. https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.106

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220706005573/en/Gaming---A-339-Billion-Industry-Assessment-2022-2027-Asia-Pacific-and-Smartphone-Gaming-are-the-Lucrative-Segments---ResearchAndMarkets.com

Sabtan, N. (2022). A pragmatic investigation of the translation of swearwords in Arabic-English film subtitling. 3L: Language, Linguistics, Literature, 28(1), 11-28. http://doi.org/10.17576/3L-2022-2801-11

Sharifi, H. (2016). Norms governing the localisation of video games. The Journal of Internationalization and Localisation, 3(1), 61–73. https://doi.org/10.1075/jial.3.1.04sha

Solarski, C. (2017). Interactive stories and video game art: A storytelling framework for game design. Florida: CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/b21636

Tamatem. (2019). Most popular game genres in Arab countries. Retrieved February 21, 2021, from https://tamatem.co/most-popular-game-genres-in-arab-countries

Vinay, J., & Darbelnet, J.-P. (1995). Comparative stylistics of french and english: A methodology for translation (tr. J. Sager & M. Hamel; 1st ed.). Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing.