Spain's video game industry is one of the most active in Europe. Madrid and Barcelona are home to studios of international significance, and demand for voice actors, motion capture (mocap) performers and facial capture performers grows every year.
Types of performance work in video games
Video game dubbing
The most accessible work: dubbing characters into Spanish. It requires precise vocal control and the ability to sync with animations that are already locked. Video games branch into far more dialogue than series do: a character can respond in dozens of ways depending on the player's choices, which means recording many variations of the same line.
Motion capture (mocap)
The actor physically performs the character in a suit covered with markers that capture their movements. Physical skills matter: martial arts, acrobatics or athletics. Studios with mocap equipment in Spain are few, but international projects frequently shoot in Madrid and Barcelona.
Performance capture
The actor records both their movement and their facial expressions. It is the most demanding form: it combines mocap with live vocal work.
How to break into the industry
- Dubbing studios specialised in video games: Contact studios in Madrid and Barcelona directly. Submit demos featuring fantasy characters, action and combat dialogue.
- Dubbing agencies with a video game division: Some agencies have departments specialised in gaming.
- Casting platforms: Video game dubbing casting calls appear with growing frequency on Arga Studios and similar platforms.
The most valued skills
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- Repetition ability: recording the same line dozens of times with subtle variations.
- For mocap: training in movement and physical coordination.
- Conversational English to take direction notes from international teams.
Voice demo for video games
Your demo should stand apart from a classic screen dubbing reel. Include: combat dialogue (shouts, exertion), a fantasy character with a defined personality, narrative dialogue with emotional depth. If you have several vocal registers, show them.
The sector is growing: Spain is the fourth largest video game market in Europe. Localisation into Spanish is mandatory for any title with commercial ambitions in the Spanish-speaking market.
Voice, mocap and performance capture: not the same thing
It is worth distinguishing three jobs that are often confused. Voice means recording dialogue in the studio, just like screen dubbing but with a more physical delivery. Motion capture (mocap) records the body's movement through a marker suit in order to animate the character. And performance capture records body, face and voice at the same time, so the actor's complete performance is carried into the game. Each one demands different preparation and is sometimes hired separately.
What a motion capture session is like
A mocap session is shot in an open space —known as the volume— surrounded by cameras. You work in a tight suit covered in markers and, often, with no real props: a box stands in for a chest and a mark on the floor for a cliff edge. That is why bodily imagination and physical discipline are so highly valued: you have to repeat the same action with millimetre precision so the technicians get clean takes.
Video game dubbing in Spain
The localisation of video games into Spanish is concentrated above all in studios in Madrid and Barcelona, where many of the same professionals who dub film and series work. Getting in usually involves having a video game-specific demo, contacting localisation studios and, in many cases, a recommendation from a dubbing director who already knows you from other projects.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need dubbing experience to do video game voices?
It helps a lot, because microphone technique and sight-reading are shared skills. Even so, video games call for more extreme vocal work (combat, exertion) that is worth preparing separately in your demo.
Do you need to be in good physical shape for mocap?
It is highly recommended. Sessions are long and demanding, and many scenes involve action, falls or sustained exertion that the body must be able to repeat without losing precision.
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