PUBG Case Study | VSI Group

Groza’s POV – behind the scenes of the making of PUBG’s emotes

About the client

PUBG Corporation is the mastermind behind the hugely successful, online, multiplayer, battle royale video game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG). Focused on producing games that are loved by players all around the world, they strive to be more than just a game publisher and developer, but a cultural phenomenon. We were excited to once again work with PUBG, this time to subtitle an episode of their YouTube series Groza’s POV.

The project

Services:
Subtitling

Languages:
English, Korean, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Vietnamese

This latest episode of Groza’s POV provides an all-access pass to PUBG’s studios, revealing what really goes into producing their characters’ famous “emotes”, an in-game feature allowing players to communicate with one another through gestures and dances. Groza, PUBG’s Social Media Manager, guides viewers through the process by interviewing the company’s emote specialist and trained dancer. Dressed in a CGI suit, he gives fans of the popular video game an exclusive look at the new moves he is filming.

For this eagerly awaited YouTube upload of Groza’s POV, the source languages were Korean and English, and we created subtitles in six languages: English, Korean, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Vietnamese. Having worked with PUBG on their YouTube series Dev Corner, we expanded on the glossary that we had previously created for them, containing key terms and names. This was shared with our translators to ensure consistency across all languages.

Our approach

Due to the fast-paced nature of the gaming industry and constant anticipation for innovative new content, the turnaround requirements were quick and we knew communication needed to be smooth and seamless. VSI assigned a specialist team of gaming experts to the project: from a dedicated project manager, based in Seoul, to linguists located in Asia. Having a project manager working in the same time zone as the client helped to streamline the overall communications and speed up the final deliveries.

The subtitles needed to be uploaded on to the client’s YouTube page almost immediately. Certain languages had priority over others, so we provided staggered deliveries over a 3-day period in order to meet those requirements. The team’s knowledge of gaming helped ensure that the subtitles were not only accurately transcribed and translated, but that the speedy turnarounds could also be met.

While working on a previous project for PUBG, VSI created a detailed glossary with gaming terms and recurring phrases. Our translators used this as a reference for Groza’s POV, allowing them to maintain consistency in their translations. They then updated the glossary, and this was delivered to the client with translations in all six languages.

Outcome

PUBG Corporation was pleased with the end results. They were particularly grateful that VSI’s project manager and suppliers were able to work during the Mid-Autumn Harvest Festival, known as ‘Chuseok’ in Korea, in order to ensure the timely delivery of the multilingual subtitles.

We enjoyed partnering with PUBG on this project. Their coordination in sending us the final materials enabled our team to work efficiently and without delay. Due to our shared, prompt and effortless communication throughout the production stage, we were able to provide a fast turnaround for each language. We have since been asked to subtitle the second episode of Groza’s POV, and we look forward to collaborating on many more gaming projects together in the future.