English has long been the assumed default language of game development, so deeply embedded that most localization guides treat it as the source language, not a target. The entire EFIGS framework (English, French, Italian, German, Spanish) reinforces this by positioning English as the starting point from which everything else flows.
But that assumption is (perhaps) becoming outdated. Chinese studios like Game Science (Black Myth: Wukong, 25+ million copies sold) have produced some of the biggest hits of recent years. Korean, Japanese, and Southeast Asian developers are shipping globally in record numbers. For these studios, English is not the language they develop in but a localization target.
So it’s worth asking a question that rarely gets asked:
- Is English game localization still worth the investment?
- How many gamers does it actually reach, how much do those gamers spend
- What does the competitive landscape look like as other languages close the gap?
To answer that, we need to examine the regional markets, the massive differences in average revenue per user (ARPU), and the unique role English plays as the gaming world’s lingua franca.
This article is part of a series exploring the major languages and their value for indie and AAA games alike. We’ve already covered French, Italian, German, and Spanish. Now we’re tackling the E of EFIGS.
What is English?
English is not a single, monolithic language. It has no central regulatory body (unlike French, which is governed by the Académie française), and it has evolved into dozens of distinct regional varieties, each with its own spelling conventions, vocabulary, date formats, and cultural expectations. For game localization, this means that choosing to “localize into English” immediately raises a follow-up question: which English?
The major variants relevant to game localization include:
1. American English: Spoken by approximately 230 million people in the United States as their primary language. American English is the most widely encountered variety in gaming. It is used by most major publishers, and the default locale (en-US) across platforms like Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation. It uses simplified spellings (color, organize, defense), MM/DD/YYYY date formats, and the imperial measurement system.
2. British English: Spoken by roughly 60 million people in the United Kingdom. British English conventions are also common across much of Europe, former Commonwealth nations, and many English-as-a-second-language contexts, though the global picture is messier than a clean US/UK split.
Key differences include spelling (colour, organise, defence), vocabulary (boot vs. trunk, lift vs. elevator), and DD/MM/YYYY date formatting. PlayStation, notably, distinguishes between US English and UK English in its supported locales.
3. Australian English: Approximately 17 million speakers. Largely follows British spelling conventions but has adopted some American terms, along with distinctive slang and abbreviations.
3. Canadian English: A hybrid of American and British conventions. British spellings for some words (colour, centre) but American conventions for others. Approximately 20 million speakers.
5. Other major varieties: Indian English, Nigerian English, Philippine English, Singaporean English, and South African English each have tens of millions of proficient speakers. These varieties are heavily influenced by local languages and generally follow British conventions. It’s worth noting that in countries like India and Nigeria, English is overwhelmingly used as a second or additional language rather than a first language, so these speaker counts are not directly comparable to the native-speaker figures above.
For game localization, we recommend American English (en-US) as the default locale, unless you have a clear business reason to target another variant. It is the convention of the world’s largest gaming market, the most common default across platform interfaces, and the variety most non-native English speakers encounter through media, tech products, and gaming itself.
That said, if your game is narrative-heavy or set in a culturally specific context (e.g., a game set in London), British English localization may be warranted. Some studios also maintain separate US/UK English builds, though this is uncommon for indie titles given the additional cost.
How many people speak English?
English is the most widely spoken language in the world by total speaker count. According to Ethnologue (2025), approximately 1.5 billion people speak English globally.
However, that headline figure requires careful unpacking. English speaker statistics are unusually messy because the language is used natively, institutionally, academically, commercially, and aspirationally across vastly different contexts. The numbers you see depend heavily on where you draw the line.
Native speakers
There are an estimated 380–400 million native English speakers worldwide.English holds official or de facto status in over 60 countries, though the largest native-speaking populations are concentrated in a handful of wealthy nations. The table below gives approximate figures.
A caveat: The table numbers are are drawn from a mix of census categories (language spoken at home, mother tongue, main language) that don’t map perfectly onto one another. They’re directionally reliable but not directly comparable across countries.
Non-native speakers
Ethnologue estimates approximately 1.1 billion people speak English as a second or additional language. That’s a ratio of 3:1!
And depending on how these numbers are tabulated,non-native numbers baloon even further. For instance, an esimate estimate from the British Council puts the figure at 2.3 billion people who speak English “to some level,” though this includes people with limited conversational ability who would struggle with an English-language game.
The largest non-native English-speaking populations include India (125+ million proficient speakers), Pakistan (108 million), Nigeria (79 million), and the Philippines (64 million). Across the European Union, the 2024 Eurobarometer found that 47% of EU citizens speak English as a foreign language.
English also holds the distinction of being the most studied language on the planet. According to Duolingo’s 2025 Language Report, English is the number-one language being learned in 154 countries, up 14% from the prior year. English is mandatory in the national curriculum of over 140 countries.
Growth rate
Unlike French, whose growth is driven by rapid population expansion in Africa, English’s growth as a native language is relatively modest. It is tied to the demographics of countries like the US, UK, and Australia, which have low birth rates.
However, the non-native speaker pool continues to expand steadily, driven by globalisation, digital media, and education policy. Whether the total reaches the often-cited “2 billion” milestone depends entirely on where you set the proficiency threshold (the British Council already counts 2.3 billion at its broadest definition).
What’s clear is that the number of people with functional English ability continues to grow, even as the definition of “speaker” remains contested.
How many English-speaking gamers are there?
Estimating the number of English-speaking gamers is more complex than for any other EFIGS language. Unlike French, where speakers are concentrated in a few well-defined regions, English speakers span every continent and encompass an enormous range of proficiency levels, economic circumstances, and gaming habits.
Our estimate places the total number of gamers reachable through English at approximately 500–800 million worldwide, spread across five key regions. This range reflects native English-speaking gamers plus non-native gamers who regularly play games in English (by choice or because no localisation in their own language is available). The low end counts only gamers in majority-English-speaking countries and high-proficiency European markets; the high end adds English-proficient gamers in Asia, Africa, and the rest of the world.
North America
The United States is home to approximately 205 million gamers. The ESA’s 2025 Essential Facts report found that 205.1 million Americans aged 5 to 90 play video games regularly, up from 190.6 million the previous year.
In terms of spending, ESA/Circana/Sensor Tower data shows U.S. consumer spending on video games totalled $60.7 billion in 2025, the second-highest on record. Add Canada’s approximately 20 million gamers, and North America contributes roughly 225 million English-speaking gamers.
Europe (native and high-proficiency speakers)
The United Kingdom is the largest English-native gaming market in Europe. According to Ukie’s 2025 market valuation, UK consumers spent £8.7 billion on games and gaming-related products in 2025, making it one of the largest national gaming markets in the world. The UK has approximately 38 million gamers.
But the UK is only part of the European English-gaming story. Across Northern and Western Europe, English proficiency is remarkably high. The EF English Proficiency Index (2025) ranks the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Austria in the “very high” proficiency band, while Germany, Belgium, and Poland fall into the “high” band. Anecdotally, many gamers in these countries play games in English (especially when their native-language localisation is unavailable or when they prefer English voice acting) though reliable data on actual in-game language choice remains scarce.
In the EU and UK combined, approximately 257 million people speak English (65.5 million native, 191.4 million non-native according to Eurobarometer 2024 and census data). A significant portion of these are active gamers who are comfortable engaging with English-language content.
Asia-Pacific
This is where English’s reach gets both impressive and complicated. According to the FICCI-EY Media & Entertainment Report (2025), India’s online gamer base expanded to 488 million in 2024, with 125 million English speakers among them. The Philippines, Singapore, and Malaysia are all English-official or English-dominant gaming markets. Parts of Southeast Asia and even China and Japan have significant English-proficient gamer populations.
However, as we’ll explore in the ARPU section below, the sheer volume of gamers in this region masks an important reality: per-user spending is dramatically lower than in North America or Western Europe.
Oceania
Australia (roughly 17 million gamers) and New Zealand (roughly 3 million gamers) form a small but affluent English-speaking gaming market. According to IGEA, 82% of Australians play video games, and Australian consumers spent AUD 3.8 billion on games and related hardware in 2024.
Both countries have high gaming penetration rates and strong spending habits, making them valuable despite their modest population sizes.
Africa
Nigeria (79 million English speakers), South Africa, Kenya, and Ghana represent a growing English-speaking gaming market. Mobile gaming in sub-Saharan Africa has expanded rapidly thanks to falling data costs and rising smartphone adoption. However, these markets currently contribute limited revenue due to low disposable incomes and infrastructure challenges.
Not all English-speaking gamers are created equal
This is the section that matters most for game developers making localization decisions. A total addressable market (TAM) of 500–800 million gamers sounds staggering; but the revenue potential varies by a factor of 60x or more depending on which English-speaking market you’re looking at.
Research consistently shows that consumers spend a larger percentage of their income on entertainment when they have more disposable income. For English, the gap between the richest and poorest English-speaking markets is wider than for almost any other EFIGS language.
To make this concrete, we’ve grouped English-speaking gaming markets into three tiers based on average revenue per user (ARPU):
Note: This is an illustrative market segmentation based on mixed public sources (ESA/Circana, Newzoo, Ukie, IGEA, Allcorrect). ARPU definitions vary across sources (some include hardware and services, others cover software only). Ranges are directional, not directly comparable across all tiers.
Tier 1: The core revenue engine ($200+/year ARPU)
The United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand form the high-value core of the English-speaking gaming market. These five countries alone account for over $80 billion in combined annual gaming revenue.
Consider the numbers: U.S. consumer spending hit $60.7 billion in 2025 across approximately 205 million gamers. The UK reached £8.7 billion (~$11 billion). Canada contributes an estimated $6–7 billion. Even using conservative software-only estimates, Tier 1 English-speaking gamers spend $200 or more per year on average.
These are markets where console ownership is high, PC gaming is strong, players actively purchase premium titles at $60–$70, and in-game spending on battle passes, cosmetics, and subscriptions is deeply normalised.
Tier 2: The English-proficient bonus ($20–$100/year ARPU)
This tier includes gamers in Western European countries like the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Germany, and Belgium who are highly proficient in English and regularly game in English. It also includes affluent English-speaking markets in Asia like Singapore and Malaysia.
These gamers represent a genuine “bonus” that English localization provides over other languages. A game localized into English reaches not only native English speakers but also a substantial chunk of gamers in these high-proficiency, moderate-to-high income markets. It’s an effect that no other EFIGS language can replicate at this scale.
However, attributing specific revenue to this tier is difficult because these gamers are technically “reached” by English localization but might also play in their native language if available. The revenue from this tier is real but partially overlaps with other localization efforts (e.g., German, Dutch).
Tier 3: High volume, low monetization ($3–$15/year ARPU)
India is the starkest example. With 488 million online gamers and 125 million English speakers, India has an enormous potential audience. But according to Allcorrect’s 2024 gaming market analysis, India’s ARPU is just $3.03 per year (the lowest among the top 20 gaming nations). Nigeria, the Philippines, and other English-speaking emerging markets have similarly low monetisation rates.
This doesn’t mean these markets are worthless. India’s gaming market is growing rapidly. The FICCI-EY report projects the gamer base will reach 517 million by 2025, and the market is expected to grow at a 10–11% CAGR through 2027.
For ad-supported or free-to-play games targeting massive download numbers, Tier 3 markets are valuable. But for premium titles or games relying on in-app purchases from a smaller player base, the effective revenue from these markets remains modest.
The bottom line for game developers: English’s TAM of 500–800 million gamers is misleading without ARPU context. The revenue-weighted market is overwhelmingly concentrated in Tier 1. A studio localizing into English is primarily targeting the US, UK, Canada, and Australia (with everything else as upside). When evaluating ROI, benchmark against Tier 1 metrics, not the total speaker count.
English as the gaming lingua franca
What makes English truly unique among EFIGS languages (and all languages, really) is its role as the default fallback language for gaming worldwide.
On Steam, the world’s dominant PC gaming platform, English and Simplified Chinese are locked in a near-tie for the top language spot. Publicly reported Valve data from GDC 2025 put Simplified Chinese at 33.7% of active accounts and English at 33.5%, based on account language settings.
The public Steam Hardware & Software Survey (which uses a different, opt-in methodology) has historically placed English somewhat higher, around 36–37%. The two datasets aren’t directly comparable, but both point to the same conclusion: English is one of Steam’s two dominant interface languages, consistently representing roughly a third of the platform’s user base.But this understates English’s real influence. Unlike Simplified Chinese, which is concentrated almost entirely among Chinese users, English on Steam represents users from dozens of countries. American, British, Canadian, Australian, Indian, Scandinavian, Dutch, and German gamers all contribute to that English share.
The EF English Proficiency Index (2025) illustrates why. Countries like the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, and Sweden score in the “very high” proficiency band. Germany, Poland, and Belgium score “high.”
In practice, there’s strong anecdotal evidence that gamers in these countries frequently play in English, especially for voice-acted content, or when native-language localisation is unavailable, though hard data on actual in-game language preferences across these markets remains limited.
This creates a multiplier effect: English localization gives you direct access to native English-speaking markets and significant indirect access to high-proficiency non-native markets. No other language in the EFIGS set offers this dual benefit at scale.
The flipside is worth noting. English’s dominance is no longer unchallenged. Simplified Chinese has reached near-parity with English on Steam. That’s the clearest platform-level signal that the linguistic balance in PC gaming is shifting.
The success of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean studios shipping globally (titles like Black Myth: Wukong, which reportedly sold over 25 million copies, are a prominent example) means more games are being developed in non-English source languages. While English remains the single most important localization target, the era of English-only global launches yielding maximum results is fading.
The United States remains the king of the hill
Just as France is the undisputed centrepiece of French game localization, the United States is the overwhelming driver of English’s value proposition for game developers.
Note: “Consumer spending” (ESA/Circana) and “market revenue” (Newzoo) use different methodologies and scopes. The global share figure above uses Newzoo’s market-revenue framework for consistency with its global total.
The U.S. is the second-highest-spending game market on record, trailing only its own 2021 pandemic-era peak of $61.7 billion. It is the world’s largest console market, has a massive and growing PC gaming audience, and its mobile gaming segment alone accounts for $26.7 billion annually.
The American gamer is also a high spender. When you factor in subscription services (Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation Plus), hardware purchases, and in-game spending, average annual spend per gamer runs well above most other markets. Steam alone reached 40+ million concurrent users in 2025, with a substantial share of that traffic originating from the U.S.
For most studios considering English game localization, the calculus is straightforward: the U.S. market alone is often sufficient justification, particularly for premium titles and live-service games targeting high-spend audiences. Everything else (the UK, Canada, Australia, the English-proficient European markets, India’s growth potential) is additional upside on top of an already compelling core proposition.
Data limitations and challenges
While we’ve attempted to provide a clear analysis on what a team can expect from English game localization, there are clear limits into what can be gleaned from third-party data.
The counting problem
Estimating “English-speaking gamers” is inherently imprecise. Unlike French or German, where speakers are relatively well-defined, English exists on a massive spectrum. The difference between a Dutch gamer who is perfectly fluent in English and an Indian gamer who knows a few English phrases is enormous, yet both might be counted as “English speakers” in aggregate statistics.
The EF English Proficiency Index, while valuable, is based on self-selected test takers (predominantly younger adults with an existing interest in English study) and is not guaranteed to be representative of national populations. Countries where people actively seek out English tests may score higher than their general population warrants.
The India challenge
India deserves special attention because its numbers can dramatically skew any analysis. With 488 million online gamers and 125+ million English speakers, India’s raw numbers are enormous. But at $3.03 ARPU, the effective revenue contribution is a fraction of what the headcount suggests. Including India in English TAM calculations without ARPU context would lead to wildly inflated expectations.
That said, India’s gaming market is growing rapidly, and its young, increasingly connected population suggests significant long-term potential. Game developers would be wise to monitor India closely but calibrate near-term revenue expectations conservatively.
The proficiency assumption
Not all English speakers can engage meaningfully with an English-language game. Text-heavy RPGs, narrative adventures, and story-driven games require a level of reading comprehension that many L2 English speakers may not possess.
For these genres, the effective addressable market through English localization may be significantly smaller than the total English-speaking gamer population suggests. Games with minimal text or universal mechanics (puzzle games, action games, sports titles) have a much wider effective reach.
The overlap problem
Many gamers counted as “reachable through English” also have access to localised versions in their native language. A German gamer who is fluent in English but plays with German localisation is technically reachable through English, but wouldn’t be lost without it.
This means the incremental revenue attributable specifically to English localization (beyond serving native English-speaking markets) is difficult to isolate.
Key takeaways
English is, without question, the single most valuable localization language for any game. No other language provides access to a market of this size and spending power. Here’s what developers should keep in mind:
- Unmatched market access: English provides direct access to 500+ million gamers, including the world’s largest gaming market by consumer spending (the US at $60.7B) and several other affluent markets (UK, Canada, Australia).
- Revenue is concentrated in Tier 1: Over $80 billion in combined annual gaming revenue comes from just five English-speaking countries. The US alone generates $60.7 billion. Don’t mistake the 1.5 billion total speaker count for 1.5 billion potential customers.
- The lingua franca multiplier: English localization reaches beyond native markets into high-proficiency European countries, parts of Asia, and the global gaming community that defaults to English when their own language isn’t available.
- ARPU matters more than headcount: A gamer in the US generates 60x or more revenue than a gamer in India. When planning localization budgets and projecting ROI, segment by spending tier, not by raw speaker count.
- English is necessary but no longer sufficient: The gap between English and other languages is narrowing. Chinese is now at parity with English on Steam. Successful global launches increasingly benefit from EFIGS + CJK + PTBR coverage. English alone won’t maximize your global potential.
- Default to American English: Unless you have a specific reason to target another variant, American English (en-US) should be your standard. It’s the convention of the largest market and the most widely understood variant globally.
In plaint terms, if you’re a non-English studio and can only localize into one language, make it English. The return on investment is unmatched.
But go in with clear-eyed expectations about which English-speaking markets will actually drive your revenue, and plan your broader localization strategy knowing that English alone is no longer enough to capture the full global opportunity.
