The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy intends to address foreign video game developers with a proposal to offer Ukrainian localization in their projects more actively. This was announced by Acting Minister of Culture and Information Policy Rostyslav Karandieiev during a telethon.
The official made the statement while commenting on the program for the development of the Ukrainian language until 2030. The goal of the program is for 80% of Ukrainians to speak Ukrainian in their families and everyday life by 2030, and for the share of Ukrainian-language cultural products to increase from 55% to 85%. Thus, Rostyslav Karandieiev noted the need for a Ukrainian-language media product.
«If a family watches a Ukrainian movie, it is easier for them to discuss it immediately in Ukrainian. Therefore, the emphasis is on filling the national information space with Ukrainian-language products,» the head of the department said.
It is noted that the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy drew attention to the lack of Ukrainian localizations of video games.
«More than a month ago, we had a working meeting on the ministry’s priorities with the participation of First Lady Olena Zelenska. Among the issues she raised was the problem of legal computer games in the Ukrainian language entering the Ukrainian market,» Karandeyev said.
At the same time, the official noted that the computer game industry requires «personal communication», which the head of the department called «IT diplomacy».
«I think we will soon come out with a global proposal to global computer game manufacturers to have Ukrainian-language versions,» Karandeyev emphasized.
According to Steam statistics, in February, the Ukrainian language ranked 14th in popularity (with a score of 0.65%), slightly losing in terms of usage. It is ahead of Italian, Czech, and Hungarian, but behind Polish, French, and German. Earlier it was noted that the number of audience members who use a particular language is one of the factors that influence the decision of game developers to create a localization. Therefore, it is important to use Ukrainian in the interface of the operating system, Steam, etc.
Source: hromadske