For many international developers Russia is considered to be an opportunity to
grow their app or games business. According to the 2017 report on the '
Internet Economy in Russia [PDF]', Russia's population is young with 45% of
people being under 35 years old.
The report also found that mobile subscriptions are at 160% of the population of
146 million people, meaning people with data plans have more than one on average
– considerably higher than other well connected countries.
Last year Android accounted for 84% of all smartphones in Russia and smartphone
shipments are still growing with demand up 11% in early 2017 compared to 2016.
Russian people are very engaged in terms of smartphone mobile usage, Russia is
one of the top countries in terms of apps downloaded per person
Half of the population are gamers; their favorite game genres being strategy,
builders and farms, shooters, puzzles and fighters. The most popular app
categories are dating (with strong local developers), music & video, social &
messaging and shopping.
Tips to help you successfully localize for Russian
Along with understanding Russian mobile trends, there are market specific best
practices which can help you tailor your apps and games for a local audience to
increase your chance of business success.
- Language localization
- Proofread and quality assure your entire app or game after translating text
resources and visual assets. After localization, you should quality assure your
app or game as a whole and not just text resources.
- Use proficient native speakers. Contextually relevant translations are best
done by native speakers familiar with mobile apps or games terminology.
- Localize all content where possible. Aim to provide as much localized
content as possible, providing a similar level in the local language as the
original.
- Ensure consistent language and style. Semantically check the translated
text in the context of the whole app/game experience to make it look and sound
relevant to local users. Ensure use of consistent language style (such as
formal/informal addressing) and use of the same terms or names across all the
text and visual assets.
- Don't forget language rules. Follow
quantities, gender, word breaking, acronyms, etc. If the user gender is unknown,
consider making a careful choice of words so that to omit specifying user's
gender or use a passive voice.
- Be aware of the length of translated text. In Cyrillic languages words and
phrases tend to be longer than English, and might not fit into a tightly
designed UI. Be creative in finding alternative contextually and locally
relevant alternative translations.
- Use local date and time formats. Check the
- Take note of the "you" translation. "You" translation is contextual and can
be translated to singular (similar to early modern english thou) or
plural form (when refer to multiple people or in polite form). And as a
reminder, when choosing to address your user informally ("thou"), make sure to
avoid specifying user's gender, unless it is known.
- Proofread and quality assure your entire app or game after translating text
- Play Store assets
- Provide localized store assets, such as the title (for example when title
is not a universally known brand), store listing, screenshots and videos. Do not
forget to localize the "what's new" section if included.
- Avoid keywords in your app or game title which attempt to improve its
visibility on the Play Store.
- Provide localized store assets, such as the title (for example when title
- Local pricing, price points, rounding rules
- Avoid adding your own currency indicators (such as $ or £) as some markets
use local pricing -
find out more about local pricing. Use the Russian Ruble official symbol (₽)
after the number with a space, and use comma as a decimal separator, e.g. 49,99
₽.
- Generally, in-app, subscriptions, or paid app/games prices should be lower
than in Western markets. Research industry best practices and experiment which
price points are best for your app or game business model.
- Make sure price rounding follows the "99" or "49" rules.
the Google Play Console to set local prices.
- Avoid adding your own currency indicators (such as $ or £) as some markets
- Text resources
- Avoid abbreviations, and if shortening is absolutely necessary, follow
language rules to shorten words.
- Avoid breaking single words and punctuation into a new line. Follow
language rules of breaking words across lines (such as app- and -lication).
- Ensure consistent font styles. Some font families may be displayed
differently in non-English locales. Always check how your chosen font will be
displayed on user devices in different locales.
- Avoid abbreviations, and if shortening is absolutely necessary, follow
- In-game visual and audio assets
- When appropriate and relevant, consider localizing visual assets in
addition to text strings. Pay attention to splash screens!
- Localize video and audio, and use native speakers to make it sound locally
relevant.
- When appropriate and relevant, consider localizing visual assets in
For more guidance, read the
checklist.
Nominate your title for the "Now in Russian" collection on the Google Play
Store
On July 24st we launched the first
in Russian collection on Google Play, featuring 24 titles from international
developers such as
Transformers,
Legacy of Discord,
Crossy Road,
Last Empire - War Z and others.
We are planning to refresh the collection by the end of the year and we would
love to include your title!
your recently localized title for a chance to be included.
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