A Study on Translation Strategies for Localization of Chinese Elements in Black Myth: Wukong Based on Cultural Adaptation Theory

In today’s globalized world, the video game industry has become a major cultural and economic force. Therefore, successful game localization is crucial to bridge cultural gaps. Game localization isn’t just simple language conversion, but a cultural collision. The lack of cultural content in games makes them lose their original meaning and style. Therefore, to make games popular in target markets and respond to the national call for promoting Chinese culture abroad, this paper studies the cultural adaptability in game localization to help them flourish in overseas markets. This paper takes Black Myth: Wukong, the first Chinese 3A game as a case study. Using the Cultural Adaptation Theory, it analyzes the localization strategies of traditional Chinese cultural elements in the game and how the localization team adapts traditional Chinese cultural elements for a global audience while keeping the essence of Chinese culture. The research combines Cultural Adaptation Theory with game localization principles, exploring the challenges and solutions in balancing cultural authenticity and accessibility for non - Chinese players. It focuses on strategies for presenting mythological themes, translating cultural - rich language, and creating appealing visual elements. The findings stress the significance of culturally adaptive localization for enhancing the global appeal of Chinese - themed games and offer insights for future projects to bridge cultural gaps in the gaming industry.