Stream subtitles
How to show translated subtitles on your stream, including the game's own text
Streaming a game in a language your viewers don't read, or streaming in your language to viewers overseas? There are two kinds of text they miss: what you say, and what the game says. Tools for the first are well known. This page covers them briefly, then how to share the second, the game's dialogue, menus and items, in your viewers' language through OBS.
Translating what you say: the usual ways
Most searches for stream translation subtitles lead here. These tools are good at it, and they all start from audio or chat.
Speech caption plugins for OBS
Plugins such as LocalVocal listen to your microphone, turn your speech into captions, and can translate them. The captions go on screen as a text source or into the stream's caption track.
Covers: What you say.
Platform captions and extensions
YouTube's automatic captions and Twitch caption extensions start from your voice too. Viewers pick the language on their side where the platform supports it.
Covers: What you say.
Chat translation bots
A bot in your chat translates messages between you and viewers who write in other languages.
Covers: What you and your viewers type.
None of them read the screen. In a story game, most of the words your viewers need are on it.
Translating what the game says
Read it out and translate as you go
Works, and viewers enjoy it, but it slows the game down and you are only as fast as your own translation.
A screen translator on your desktop, recorded with Display Capture
You have to switch your whole scene to Display Capture, which also shows notifications and anything else on that monitor. Many overlays are also hidden from capture on purpose, so they never reach the stream.
A translation layer made for OBS
The translation arrives in OBS as its own source, and you keep Game Capture. This is what Playto does, described below.
With Playto: the game's text as an OBS source
Playto is a Windows app that reads the game screen and translates it live, as subtitles over the game. It can send the same subtitles to OBS as a Browser Source, so your viewers see the translated lines in the same place you do.
- In Playto, open Integration and press Start under OBS / Streaming, then Copy URL.
- In OBS, add a Browser source and paste the URL.
- Set its size to the game's resolution. Playto shows the numbers to use.
- Place it over your game source. Keep Game Capture as it is.
You set it up once; the URL stays the same between launches. Pick the language your viewers read as the translation language, and pair it with a speech caption plugin if you want your voice covered too. Step-by-step details are in the OBS docs.
Before you go live
It is machine translation of the game's writing, not an official localisation. Saying so once on stream keeps viewers from taking an odd line as the publisher's own. What you may do with the footage is on streaming and video.
OBS and Playto run on the same PC. Translation runs locally and needs roughly 2 to 4 GB of spare GPU memory next to the game and the encoder; Text and Text+ modes are much lighter than Image mode while streaming. Playto Lite, the free version on Steam, streams with a small Playto watermark; the full version has none by default.
Common questions
How do I show translated subtitles on my stream?
For your voice, use a speech caption plugin for OBS or your platform's automatic captions. For the text inside the game, add Playto as an OBS Browser Source: it shows the game's lines translated, in the same place as the text on screen, and works with Game Capture.
Can viewers who speak another language follow a game in my language?
Yes. Set Playto to translate the game into your viewers' language. A Japanese streamer playing a Japanese game can show English lines to overseas viewers, and the same works in 23 languages in any direction.
Does it work with Game Capture?
Yes. The Browser Source is a layer you place over the game source, so it does not depend on how the game is captured. Display Capture also works: the desktop overlay shows up there without the Browser Source.
Does it need an OBS plugin?
No. OBS's built-in Browser source loads a URL that Playto serves on your PC. OBS has to run on the same PC as Playto.
Is it free?
Yes, Playto Lite on Steam includes it, with a small Playto watermark on the stream. The full version, a one-time $9.99 USD on Steam (regional pricing), has no watermark by default.
Am I allowed to stream with it?
Streaming, recording and monetising footage with Playto needs no permission from us. The game itself follows its publisher's video policy. Details are on the streaming and video page in our docs.
Let your viewers read the game too
Playto Lite is free on Steam and includes the OBS Browser Source. Try it on a test recording before your next stream.