The first Hero Zero localization project arrived in 2012. What followed was one of our longest continuous game localization relationships: 12 years, two games, hundreds of update cycles, and a single Turkish specialist team throughout.

The relationship was managed through Lingoona, a Berlin-based localization agency coordinating Playata's multilingual update pipeline. Every update, every version release, every terminology decision passed through the same workflow and the same team.

 

▮The Scale

Hero Zero released its first Turkish version at v60. By 2024, we had delivered through v229. Big Bang Empire began at v2 and continued through v142. These are not estimates: every version is a separate project record.

A continuous update programme spanning:

• Hero Zero: v60 through v229, approximately 170 version updates
• Big Bang Empire: v2 through v142, approximately 140 version updates
• Total relationship: 12 years, 310+ update cycles across both titles

▮What This Work Required

Terminology consistency across 12 years. Hero Zero is a superhero RPG with its own internal vocabulary: character classes, ability names, item categories, game mechanics, seasonal event terminology. A term introduced in v60 must be consistent in v229. Over a 12-year live-service game, terminology drift is not a style problem; it breaks the player experience. Players notice when a weapon they have used for three years suddenly has a different name.

We maintained a Hero Zero-specific Turkish glossary from the first project. Every new term was documented. Every seasonal event introduced recurring vocabulary that carried forward. By v229, the glossary represented 12 years of accumulated terminology decisions, not just a translation reference, but the institutional memory of how Hero Zero speaks in Turkish.

Parallel update management. From 2014 onwards, Hero Zero and Big Bang Empire updated simultaneously, often delivered as a single combined project. “Hero Zero v175 & Big Bang Empire v95” is a single line in our project records. Two games, one delivery cycle, one coordinating PM.

Live-service pace. Browser and mobile game updates do not wait for convenient schedules. Monthly, sometimes more frequent, update cycles require a team that is always ready: same translator, same tools, same glossary, same turnaround. A new translator briefed from scratch on each cycle would introduce inconsistencies within three updates.

Register and tone. Big Bang Empire operates in a distinct adult register, different from Hero Zero’s accessible superhero tone. The same Turkish specialist handled both, understanding the tonal boundary between them and applying the appropriate register to each without crossover.