How to Tell Which Engine a Game Uses

Before translating a game, the first thing to know is which engine it was built with — the translation method depends on it. You don’t need to be a programmer: looking at the game folder is usually enough.

1. Open the game folder

On Steam, right-click the game and choose Manage → Browse local files. For other stores, open the folder where the game is installed and look for the files below.

2. Unity

• The folder contains UnityPlayer.dll.
• There is a folder named like GameName_Data.
• If it contains a Managed folder, the game uses “Mono”; if you see GameAssembly.dll and il2cpp_data, it uses “IL2CPP”. Both are Unity.

3. Unreal Engine

• There is usually an Engine folder plus a folder named after the game.
• Game content mostly sits in Content\Paks as .pak files.
• The real executable is often in Binaries\Win64.

4. Ren’Py

• You’ll find game, renpy and lib folders.
• The game folder contains .rpy, .rpyc or .rpa files.
• Ren’Py is mostly used for visual novels.

5. RPG Maker

• MV / MZ: a data folder with .json files, plus img, audio and js folders (in MV often inside a www folder).
• VX Ace: a Game.rgss3a file and a file like RGSS301.dll.

6. None of these?

Games built on large studios’ proprietary engines won’t show these signs; their text lives in custom formats and is much harder to translate. Mr.Zeuss Translation Tool currently targets Unity, Unreal Engine, Ren’Py and RPG Maker games.

Summary

1. Open the game folder.
2. UnityPlayer.dll → Unity; .pak files → Unreal; game + renpy folders → Ren’Py; .json files in data → RPG Maker MV/MZ.
3. Back up the game before translating (see How to back up a game before translating).