Silent Hunter 5 Change Language [work] May 2026

To change the language in Silent Hunter 5, follow these steps:

Launch the game and go to the Main Menu.
Click on Options (or Settings).
Look for a Language dropdown or tab (sometimes under "Game" or "Interface" settings).
Select your preferred language (e.g., English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, etc.).
Confirm and restart the game for changes to take effect.

Note: Some versions (e.g., Steam, Uplay/Ubisoft Connect) may require changing the game’s language via the platform properties instead.
For Steam: Right-click the game → Properties → Language tab.
For Ubisoft Connect: Go to the game in your library → Properties → Language.

If the in-game option is missing, the language may be set during installation or require a language pack from the game’s official patches or mods. silent hunter 5 change language

Part 2: The Primary Method – Changing via Game Launcher (Ubisoft Connect / Steam)

For vanilla (unmodded) installations, the intended way to change language in Silent Hunter 5 is through the launcher before the game boots. Here is the step-by-step process:

How TWoS Handles Language:

Installation language: You choose your preferred language during the TWoS installer setup.
Dynamic switching: TWoS includes a built-in "Language Selector" tool located in the game’s root folder after installation. Run LanguageSelector.exe to switch between English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, and Polish on the fly.
Realistic voices: TWoS defaults to German voiceover with English text for maximum immersion (English text, German commands).

To change language in SH5 while using TWoS: To change the language in Silent Hunter 5

Exit the game completely.
Navigate to your SH5 installation folder (e.g., C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Silent Hunter 5\).
Run TWoS Language Selector.exe as administrator.
Select your language and click "Apply."
Restart the game. The mod ensures that UI, hints, mission briefings, and radio messages all match your selection.

Note: If you are using TWoS, do NOT use the Steam or Ubisoft language selector. It will break the mod’s carefully patched files.

Part 7: Step-by-Step – From English to German (Full Conversion)

Let us walk through a complete conversion from English to German, as this is the most common query from history buffs wanting authenticity. Launch the game and go to the Main Menu

Goal: German menus, German voiceovers, German mission texts.

Back up your game: Copy the entire Silent Hunter 5 folder to a safe location.
Set the registry: As described in Part 3.1, change the Language key to de-DE.
Edit Main.cfg: Change to Language=de-DE and set to Read-Only.
Swap voice folders:
- Go to data/Sound/
- Rename Speech/DE to Speech/DE_ORIG
- Rename Speech/EN to Speech/DE (Yes, you are overwriting the EN folder with DE content).
- Now rename the new Speech/DE (which was originally EN) to something else? No – wait. Correct order:
  - Rename Speech/EN → Speech/EN_Backup
  - Rename Speech/DE → Speech/EN
- The game now reads German sound files from the EN folder path.
Override UI text: Download the "German Language Pack" from Subsim.com (if not using TWoS) and copy the data/Menu/Gui/ files over the originals.
Launch the game. You should now experience Das Boot in full German.

Change the Main Menu Background Text

The main menu uses texture files (.dds). You cannot change "Silent Hunter 5" into another language without editing the image files in data/Menu/Gui/MainMenu/ using a tool like GIMP with a DDS plugin.

Part 4: Solving Common "Silent Hunter 5 Change Language" Errors

Users often report persistent issues. Here is a troubleshooting table for specific error scenarios:

| Problem | Likely Cause | Solution | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Game reverts to French after restart | Ubisoft Connect cloud save conflict | Disable cloud saves in launcher settings. Then re-apply registry and Main.cfg edits. | | Text changed but voices are still wrong | Voice folders not swapped | Use the folder renaming trick in Part 3.3. | | Steam language dropdown is greyed out | Region-locked key (e.g., RU/CIS version) | You need a language pack mod from Subsim.com or a complete reinstall with a different key. | | Garbled or missing text after change | Font file mismatch | Reinstall the game’s Fonts folder from the original DVD/backup or verify game files via Steam/Ubi. | | Mods are crashing after language change | Mods like The Wolves of Steel (TWoS) are language-specific | TWoS requires English as base language. Change to English first, then install TWoS. After install, you can swap voice folders. |