MonoGame Localization Implementation Guide

This skill covers JSON-based localization loaded at runtime (bypassing the Content Pipeline) and SpriteFont configuration for multilingual text rendering. For API signatures and ready-to-copy patterns, read references/localization.md.

Architecture Overview

Modern MonoGame localization avoids .resx files and the Content Pipeline for translation strings. Instead:

1. Translation files are plain JSON files shipped alongside the game binary (e.g., Content/Localization/es.json).
2. Runtime loading uses System.Text.Json — any player can open and edit the file with a text editor.
3. A central Localizer service handles culture switching and string lookup.
4. SpriteFonts must declare the Unicode ranges for every character the active language uses — this is the most common source of runtime crashes in multilingual games.

JSON File Format

Use simple flat key/value objects per language file: