Game Localization · English Language Pairs
English to Greek Game Localization
Native Greek translators. Cultural accuracy. LocQA included. Get a free quote →
Greek localization presents specific technical challenges beyond translation. Modern Greek uses monotonic orthography (single accent mark), but some titles targeting older audiences or Orthodox Christian settings may encounter polytonic text (multiple accent marks). Greek characters require specific font coverage — the Basic Greek Unicode block (U+0370–U+03FF) plus Greek Extended (U+1F00–U+1FFF) for polytonic text. Greek strings typically run 15–25% longer than English, affecting UI layout in dialog boxes and menu items. SandVox handles English to Greek translation by native Greek translators with game experience, paired with in-engine LocQA to verify character rendering, text overflow, and layout in your actual game build.
Text Expansion & Technical Considerations
Greek is the official language of Greece (population ~10.7M) and Cyprus (~1.2M), with diaspora communities across Europe, Australia, and North America. Steam data shows Greek-language content growing, particularly in strategy games, historical titles set in the Mediterranean, and RPGs. Greek localization unlocks the Hellenic market and satisfies console certification language requirements that include Greek as an optional supported locale.
Cultural & Technical Considerations for Greek Localization
- Modern Greek uses the monotonic system — a single acute accent (ό, ά, έ) on the stressed syllable. Polytonic text with multiple diacritics only appears in religious, classical, or archival contexts.
- Greek number formatting uses the period as a thousands separator and comma as the decimal separator — opposite to English convention. Currency is the Euro (€), formatted as €1.000,50.
- Greek nouns decline across four cases (nominative, genitive, accusative, vocative) with three genders. Character names and item names that appear in different grammatical contexts require case-matched translation.
- Greek terms for game genres and mechanics are well-established. ‘Inventory’ is ‘απογραφή’ or ‘αποθήκευση’, ‘Quest’ is ‘αποστολή’ or ‘αναζήτηση’. Calque (direct translation) is preferred over borrowing English terms.
- Greek players in Greece and Cyprus use PAL region settings. Console certification regional requirements for Greek should be tested against SIEE (Sony Europe) and Nintendo Europe specifications.
What We Localize for Greek Markets
- Translation
- In-Engine LocQA
- Font Coverage Verification
- Console Certification Testing
SandVox Greek translation is performed by native Greek translators with game genre experience. In-engine LocQA covers Greek Unicode block coverage (U+0370–U+03FF), text overflow from string expansion, and layout verification in your game engine.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Greek require a special font for game localization?
Greek characters are widely supported in modern fonts — most Latin character sets include the Basic Greek Unicode block. The issue is completeness: verify your embedded font covers U+0370–U+03FF (Basic Greek) fully. Polytonic Greek (used in religious or classical contexts) additionally requires U+1F00–U+1FFF (Greek Extended). Missing glyphs produce tofu boxes at runtime. We verify font coverage as part of LocQA.
How much text expansion should I expect for Greek?
Greek typically expands English source text by 15–25%. A 20-character English UI label may become 23–25 characters in Greek. Dialog boxes, button labels, and menu items sized for English text need LocQA to verify they don’t overflow in Greek. Compound Greek words can be significantly longer than their English equivalents.
Is Greek required for any console certification?
Greek is not a mandatory language for Nintendo Switch (16 required languages), PlayStation, or Xbox certification. It is an optional language for Southern European market coverage. Studios targeting Greece and Cyprus specifically, or releasing a European language pack that includes regional languages, are the primary use case for Greek localization.
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Frequently Asked Questions
English to Greek game localization is typically priced at $0.14–$0.26 per word, depending on content complexity, domain expertise required, and turnaround timeline. A small indie game with 20,000 words costs approximately $3,800–$5,200; a mid-size title with 100,000 words ranges from $14,000–$26,000. Voice-over, QA, and any certification support (such as PEGI (Europe)) are additional line items. Contact SandVox for a tailored quote.
Greek uses a distinct non-Latin alphabet requiring dedicated font support; text expands ~20% from English; monotonic orthography is standard in modern Greek. Greek fonts must cover the full Greek Unicode block; many Latin-only fonts do not include Greek characters and will display squares or question marks. SandVox handles the full English to Greek technical pipeline, including script rendering validation, UI layout testing, and functional QA on all target platforms.
Text-only English to Greek localization for a small game (20,000–50,000 words) typically takes 3–6 weeks including translation, review, and QA. Mid-size titles (50,000–150,000 words) require 6–12 weeks. Adding Greek voice-over extends the timeline by 2–4 weeks for casting, recording, and integration. If PEGI (Europe) certification is required for Greek-market distribution, allow an additional 4–8 weeks for the rating process, which should begin in parallel with localization where possible. SandVox can accelerate timelines for urgent releases with parallel translation teams.
Yes. Greek text typically expands 20% from English — button labels, menu items, HUD text, and dialogue boxes that fit perfectly in English will overflow their containers in Greek. This is one of the most common issues in Greek game localization and must be addressed with dedicated UI layout QA. SandVox tests every localized string against the game’s UI at all target resolutions and provides overflow reports with recommended fixes.