Over the past decade, Brazil’s game development scene has steadily transformed from an emerging market into one of the industry’s most closely watched creative ecosystems. With more than 1,000 studios operating across the country, increasing international investment, and a growing wave of original IPs gaining global attention, Brazilian developers are becoming an increasingly influential presence across indie, co-development, mobile, XR, and experimental game spaces.

In this interview, Patricia Sato, Program Executive Manager at ABRAGAMES, and Rodrigo Terra, President of the organization, discuss how the Brazilian ecosystem has matured in recent years, the impact of the country’s new Videogames Legal Framework, and why publishers and investors are beginning to view Brazil as more than simply a cost-effective outsourcing destination.

Over the past few years, Brazil has emerged as a rapidly growing force in the global games industry. How would you describe the current state of the Brazilian game development ecosystem?

Patricia Sato, AbraGames Program Executive Manager: From our perspective within the Export Program, our game development ecosystem is growing steadily and in very interesting ways. With more internationally minded studios and a stronger connection between creativity, business, and technology adoption, we see an increase in new IPs focusing on fresh ideas and concepts, some of them bringing traditional and contemporary culture to the spotlight. As a game industry professional, I feel proud of our studios’ advances in new, more challenging international markets, and as a Brazilian, this is very exciting! I’m looking forward to seeing more elements of our culture showing up in global media, specifically games.

Rodrigo Terra, AbraGames President: Ten years ago, international players saw potential in Brazil. Today, they see maturity. And not just from a handful of studios, but from a growing proportion of the more than 1,000 studios across the country. There’s a visible evolution in craft: art, game design, and overall delivery. Brazilian games are fun, commercially viable, and full of soul and passion.

This matters even more in the current state of the global gaming industry, where more players are looking for cost-effectiveness without sacrificing creativity and originality. That’s exactly where Brazil stands out. We’re still largely an indie gamedev country, and that’s actually a strength right now. On top of that, Brazil is a natural gateway to Latin America, one of the fastest-growing regions in the world in terms of game players.

I’d also highlight something that doesn’t always get mentioned: the rise of regional hubs. São Paulo is the largest, but far from the only one. We have strong ecosystems in the South and Northeast, and rapidly growing communities across the whole country. This is a movement with no turning back, especially after the Videogames Legal Framework was approved in May 2024, which gave the industry a more solid institutional foundation.

And culturally, Brazilian influence in games goes well beyond surface-level folklore. It’s literal in some cases, but it’s also infused and embedded in game design, art, and original approaches. Even the way we code influences the final product. Our sci-fi is universal yet distinctly original. Our metroidvanias are different and deeply engaging. Our XR games and immersive projects are awarded across the globe for innovation and engagement. If you play a good game made by a Brazilian studio, you’ll notice these differences.

Based on your latest industry survey, what are some of the most important trends shaping game development in Brazil today?

Patricia Sato: Some of the key trends include the growth of original IP, more studios working with international partners, and a stronger focus on long-term sustainability rather than just launching a single title. Through our latest data collection at Brazil Games, we also saw a rise in teams balancing service providing or co-development with the creation of their own games. Although we have a smaller percentage of studios focusing solely on external development within the Program, it is important to see that this segment is very sustainable and profitable for these companies.

Rodrigo Terra: I agree with Pat’s observations, and I’d frame it through the lens of studio maturity. The balance between co-development and original IP creation is not really a trend in isolation. It’s part of the entrepreneurship journey that studios go through to find a sustainable business model. It reflects degrees of maturity in the gaming business here in Brazil.

That said, there are real risks. Teams tailored for co-dev and services are shaped by a method and delivery cadence that is very different from what original IP development demands. When you try to do both under the same roof, it can reflect internal clashes and different expectations. Team building from leadership becomes crucial to achieve success in either direction. Some studios can afford to have different teams or even different companies under the same umbrella, but that’s not the reality for most. What I can say is that more and more studios are learning to do this balance well, and they can deliver.

One thing I’d add to Pat’s perspective: game studios are exporters by nature. When you self-publish a game on a third-party platform that reaches beyond Brazil, you are already exporting. The real question is always: is your studio ready to pursue the international market professionally? That’s where the internationalization journey of our games and companies truly starts. And that’s exactly the kind of transition we’re helping studios navigate, both through ABRAGAMES and through programs like Brazil Games.

We’re seeing increased investment from major global players like Square Enix and Epic Games. What do these partnerships signal about the maturity and potential of the Brazilian market?

Patricia Sato: These partnerships show that Brazil is increasingly being recognized as a reliable player in the global industry. They reflect confidence in the quality of talent in the country, aligned with a long-term strategy of building strong and sustainable partnerships. We’ve also seen growing interest from global players in studios bringing fresher concepts in recent years.

Rodrigo Terra: From an ecosystem perspective, what these partnerships signal is that international players feel more confident to diversify their investments in the region, and Brazil is standing out as the next place to land. We’re talking about a country with more than 100 million players. Latin America’s gaming revenue is around 5.6 billion USD. Compared to the UK, for example, at around 8.6 billion pounds, it might seem on the surface like a lower priority. It’s not the case. The region has different gaming habits but a very loyal video gaming population, and it suffers less from economic variations. This is a region used to floating inflation and economic turbulence, which makes player engagement more resilient than you’d expect.

The strategy for international industry players also needs to follow a quite obvious step: land and operate in the region properly, not just remotely. Especially when you are investing not just in customer acquisition, but in game development itself. When they land here, they get a much clearer view of what Brazil can offer aside from a fantastic talent pool.
We’re also seeing growing interest from European and especially Asian countries such as South Korea and China, which adds new dimensions to these partnerships beyond the usual North American axis.

Now, there is always a risk that Brazil gets perceived only as a talent pool and a cost-effective outsourcing destination. Sure, in a world where performance and results matter more than ever in gaming, cost-effective projects shine. But we have creativity and increasingly mature companies, and now publishers, who are building solid businesses around original IPs and original games. Brazilian culture is also a soft power asset, a source of freshness to deliver new experiences to international audiences. Talents are what studios are, but their creations and established workplaces are what matter the most.

Brazil Games has been instrumental in supporting studios on the global stage, including at GDC. What are your key goals when bringing Brazilian developers to events like this?

Patricia Sato: Our main goal is to create opportunities that allow for a safe and sustainable environment for the growth of our companies (and their international partners!). That means not only working on visibility, but promoting real, meaningful partnerships that can also position our companies competitively on the global market. In a more holistic sense, we believe that strong business relationships stem from building bridges and encouraging mutual knowledge exchange, which ultimately contributes to the health of the global ecosystem as a whole.

Many of the showcased titles incorporate elements of Brazilian culture, folklore, or visual identity. How important is cultural authenticity when positioning games for a global audience?

Patricia Sato: Cultural authenticity is not only genuinely exciting to see translated into amazing gameplay, but also because it plays a role in representation and in projecting a country’s creative identity globally. When games showcase the richness and diversity of Brazilian culture, they help broaden perspectives and challenge what many players are used to seeing in mainstream media. For global audiences, this means exposure to fresh viewpoints and original voices, drawing from a cultural background that is still underrepresented in games. When done well, this diversity becomes a powerful source of inspiration for more distinctive and engaging experiences.

Rodrigo Terra: Cultural authenticity in games transcends folklore on screen. It’s more about the cultural lens applied to the pillars of a game: its design, art, narrative, and even its code. Very regional stories, art, and crafts add enormous value, but the key change happens when you use them in favor of gameplay and narrative.

Look at what’s happening globally. CD Projekt’s The Witcher brought Polish-Slavic mythology into RPGs and changed what the genre could feel like. 11 bit’s Frostpunk embedded Eastern European survival instincts into simulation design. Game Science’s Black Myth: Wukong gave the international audience the opportunity to play an action RPG rooted in classical Chinese literature, and it became the fastest-selling game of its kind. Tchia, made by Awaceb, a studio founded by two developers from New Caledonia, turned indigenous Kanak folklore about shapeshifting into the game’s core mechanic: soul-jumping between animals and objects. The culture didn’t decorate the game, it became the gameplay. Venba, by the Tamil developer Abhi at Visai Games, turned South Indian cooking into narrative puzzle mechanics that won the IGF Grand Prize and a BAFTA. The food wasn’t a theme. It was the algorithm.

Or take Balatro. Made by a solo anonymous Canadian developer, it brought a completely fresh approach to card game genres by reimagining poker through roguelike mechanics. Balatro has no explicit “Canadian lore,” but its freshness and innovation were only possible because it came from outside the usual culture where games have traditionally come from over the past decades: North America, Japan, UK, France. A different pair of eyes can see what the mainstream cannot.

Rodrigo Terra: Brazil has no AAA yet, but we don’t need one to prove the point. Horizon Chase Turbo, by Aquiris, became the second highest-rated racing game on Nintendo Switch after Mario Kart, reached 60 million downloads, and earned an Epic Games acquisition. Dandara reinvented metroidvania movement with gravity-bending mechanics inspired by an Afro-Brazilian freedom fighter. Unsighted, by Tiani Pixel and Fernanda Dias at Studio Pixel Punk, brought a brilliant time-pressure mechanic to action-adventure that earned international acclaim. Mullet MadJack landed in Metacritic’s Top 20 of 2024, won Best Brazilian Game at Gamescom Latam 2025, and had John Romero playing it live. Gaucho and the Grassland brought gaucho folklore into a farming sim now ranked Top 30 on Steam.

Adventure of Samsara, partnered with Atari to reimagine the classic 2600 Adventure into a modern metroidvania and Pixel Ripped also partnered with Atari to reimagine gaming nostalgia in VR from an Emmy-winning studio. Deathbound introduced a capoeira fighter into a party-based soulslike on PS5 and Xbox. Irmão do Jorel turned Latin America’s most-watched animated series into a point-and-click game. The Posthumous Investigation built a time-loop detective story in 1937 Rio de Janeiro inspired by Machado de Assis. Entre as Estrelas, by Split Studio, is a narrative RPG rooted in Guarani-Kaiowá culture and the Pantanal, developed in collaboration with indigenous creators. And Sky Dust is setting a cyberpunk metroidvania in a dystopian São Paulo that already looks stunning.

It’s not about forcing Brazilian cultural elements into a metroidvania or a farming sim. It’s about how the brazilianness is felt by the gamer in a potent and meaningful way. Brazilians are good at mixing things up and creating something new out of it. Our sci-fi is universal yet original, diversified by our own cultural melting pot. And that’s the real power of cultural authenticity: not what you put on the screen, but what lens you see the game through.

From a production standpoint, how are Brazilian studios approaching tools, engines, and pipelines? Are there common workflows or technologies that define the region?

Patricia Sato: Brazilian studios are generally very aligned with global production standards. Teams are widely using established engines and workflows, but what stands out is their adaptability and efficiency in building a stronger production pipeline or responding to a business partner's needs.

Rodrigo Terra: I agree with Pat. Brazilian studios are very much aligned with global production standards. What I’d add is that the economic reality of smaller teams and tighter budgets naturally forces innovation in workflows and tools. Studios learn early to do more with less. And when they evolve, grow up, and mature, budgets may get higher, but those foundations stay. That mindset doesn’t go away. It boosts their production pipeline and turns them into potential powerhouses.

Constraint breeds creativity in production, not just in game design. It obligates talents and management to think differently. And diversity in the talent pool adds enormous value, too. Different perspectives become different approaches to the same problem. Different backgrounds solve problems better, because reality is genuinely different in each part of the country. A studio in Porto Alegre, a studio in Recife, and a studio in São Paulo will approach the same challenge from very different angles, and that’s a strength.

What challenges do Brazilian developers still face when it comes to scaling production, securing funding, or reaching international audiences?

Patricia Sato: I would say that the biggest challenge is still access to funding, especially when it comes to scaling teams sustainably and increasing international visibility. Through our work with the 40 studios currently in the early stages of the Brazil Games Accelerator, we can identify that one of the main anxieties is still building long-term business stability, although we already see some studios breaking through these challenges. We hope to collect more data on this during the acceleration program, which can help our ecosystem as a whole.

Rodrigo Terra: Funding is still in its scarcity days in Brazil. And to be fair, that’s true throughout the globe right now. But historically, video games were not seen as an industry here. That changed with the Videogames Legal Framework in 2024. We are still in the early days of implementing the law from a public system perspective, but initial changes are starting to happen.

ABRAGAMES had a prominent role in making the law accepted by the government, alongside all regional associations and their leadership in that period. That collective effort brought confidence to the government to dialogue and finally understand that video game businesses are worth fostering as an economic development vector. Many years after Finland, Turkey, Poland, but better late than never. And it sends a clear message to investors: “We will invest in this economic vector as an industry, not just as a consumer market.”

The global video game market is suffering from mass layoffs and project cancellations, but we are standing still here. This Brazilian and Latin American resilience is a great sign of how the region responds to adversity. With growth and sustainability come new challenges for local companies. The brain drain is no longer about expats leaving the country as it was decades ago. Now we need to compete with big companies that are landing here precisely because of the great achievements we mentioned before. Our studios need more and more competitiveness to retain talent. It’s a great moment, and that’s exactly why funding, private or public, is definitely needed to broaden across more links in the value chain. Brazilian publishers, on the other hand, are emerging from different businesses, giving a bright signal of an ongoing market maturation.

How does Brazil Games support studios beyond exposure—particularly in areas like mentorship, business development, and long-term growth?

Patricia Sato: For many years, our Program had very focused mentorship and training efforts especially tied to introducing companies in foreign markets and using global events for exploration and business development. In our most recent edition, we are advancing on this idea and increasing our efforts to expand this approach to include broader topics such as business trends in recent years, marketing, growth and investment.

Most of our activities are held fully online to be accessible to any company in Brazil, some of them with international mentors, as is the case with our most recent “Know Your Buyer” webinar lineup leading to gamescom latam. And of course, our newest initiative is the Brazil Games Accelerator, which has not only the goal of advancing 40 studios that joined the program for this first edition, but also creating new business intelligence that can be applied to other Brazilian studios - or even other regions.

Rodrigo Terra: Pat covered this. The work Brazil Games does through mentorship, the accelerator, and international business development is essential for the ecosystem. What I’d add is that this effort doesn’t happen in isolation. It’s part of a broader network that includes ABRAGAMES and regional associations across the country, all working together to make sure studios have support at every stage of their journey. Pat and the team are doing an outstanding job, and the accelerator in particular is something I’m very excited to see evolve.

For international developers and publishers, what makes Brazil an attractive partner or market to engage with right now?

Patricia Sato: Brazil offers a very compelling combination of creative talent, production capability, adaptability and market relevance. It’s a country with strong developers, a large player base, and a growing ecosystem that is increasingly ready to engage in global partnerships.

Rodrigo Terra: From a practical standpoint, Brazil offers time zone compatibility with North America, growing English proficiency in studios, and cost competitiveness without sacrificing quality. These are tangible advantages for any international publisher looking to co-develop or outsource.

But beyond production, the Brazilian gamer audience itself is a compelling reason to engage. According to the Pesquisa Game Brasil (PGB) 2026, 75.3% of Brazilians play digital games. After a peak in 2025, the market is normalizing into a more mature and balanced ecosystem. The audience is diverse: 52.8% of players are women, Gen Z and Millennials make up over 70% of the active base. Smartphones remain the main entry point at 44.1%, but the most significant trend is a migration toward PC (21.2%) and console (24%), suggesting players are moving into deeper, more intentional gaming experiences as they mature. The consumer is more selective but willing to pay early for titles with strong cultural momentum. Nostalgia and established franchises drive repurchase and reengagement. And transmedia is working: 37.2% of players started playing a franchise after watching its film or series adaptation.

For international developers and publishers, this isn’t just a big market. It’s a deeply engaged, diversifying, and culturally distinct audience that rewards those who show up with genuine commitment.

How has the rise of global distribution platforms and digital storefronts impacted Brazilian studios’ ability to reach players worldwide?

Patricia Sato: In many ways, digital distribution has lowered traditional barriers to international reach, and made access to global distribution more democratic. Any indie developer (Brazilian or not) can ship globally much more easily. From another perspective, it has made discoverability and strategic positioning much more challenging, and increased the importance of strong go-to-market strategies from the very beginning. This is one of the main challenges we are trying to tackle with our accelerator.

Rodrigo Terra: Digital distribution democratized access, but it also made the real challenge shift from “can you ship globally?” to “can you compete globally?” The gap between being technically able to publish and being strategically ready to compete is where many studios still struggle, and not just in Brazil.

What I’d add is that Brazilian studios are increasingly savvy about the mechanics of global storefronts. Localization, wishlisting strategies, and regional pricing are no longer afterthoughts. Studios understand that a well-localized Steam page, an early wishlisting campaign, and smart regional pricing can make or break a launch. These are skills that have matured significantly in the last few years.

There’s also a notable rise in self-publishing as a strategic choice. More and more Brazilian studios are choosing to self-publish, not because they can’t find a publisher, but as a deliberate side-by-side strategy. Some studios work with publishers for certain titles or territories while self-publishing others to retain more control, build direct relationships with their audience, and keep a larger share of revenue. This is a sign of maturity. It means studios are not just making games, they are building businesses.

Looking ahead, what areas of growth or innovation do you expect to define the next phase of the Brazilian games industry?

Patricia Sato: I believe the next phase will be defined by stronger original IPs (Brazilian-themed or otherwise!), more mature studios reaching stability, and greater international integration. We also expect to see continued growth in co-development and external development.

Rodrigo Terra: I agree with Pat on the fundamentals: stronger original IPs, more mature studios, and greater international integration. But I’d go further.
XR and immersive experiences still are a potential growth vector that Brazil is uniquely positioned to lead. As the hardware changes and becomes little by little more accessible and platforms expand their reach, Brazilian studios with experience in immersive storytelling will have a significant head start. Especially when you cross immersive storytelling with concepts like storyliving, physical-digital environments, location-based entertainment, theme parks, outdoor activities, and cultural institutions like museums.

Transmedia is another defining trend. The PGB 2026 data already shows that 37.2% of Brazilian players started playing a franchise after watching its film or series adaptation. This is not a one-way street. Brazilian studios are sitting on original IPs that can travel beyond games into series, film, animation, and other platforms. And when you combine that with the cultural approach we discussed earlier, you have IPs that carry freshness and distinctiveness into any medium. The potential for Brazilian game IPs to become transmedia properties is enormous, and some studios are already thinking this way.

The emergence of Brazilian publishers is another signal I’m very excited about. For years, Brazilian studios had to rely almost exclusively on international publishers to reach global audiences. Now we’re seeing publishers emerge from within the ecosystem, coming from different business backgrounds and bringing local knowledge with a global mindset. This changes the power dynamics and gives studios more options to bring their games to market on their own terms.

Looking at the next frontier, I see three areas that deserve attention. First, games and education: Brazil has a massive young population and a growing need for innovative educational tools. Games can play a transformative role here. Second, games and tourism: the cultural richness we embed in our games can drive real-world interest in Brazilian destinations, and we’re already seeing that potential with titles set in the Pantanal, the pampas, São Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro, alongside international examples like Death Stranding, Black Myth: Wukong, and many Japanese titles. Third, Brazil’s positioning for cloud gaming: with a massive mobile-first population that is now migrating to deeper gaming experiences, cloud gaming could be the bridge that allows millions of players to access premium content without the hardware investment. It’s still an open question whether it’s good or bad for a studio in terms of revenue and profitability, but in a region where money counts and a free-to-play culture is dominant, mitigations on game distribution are mandatory.

Also, new regulations towards loot boxes and a growing consciousness about digital life and safety, especially for children and teenagers, raise awareness of the need for change and innovation in future business models.

And generative AI. Despite all concerns and important debates about it: ethics, business models, sustainability, perpetuity in the future, and so on, generative AI can be a tool to accelerate production pipelines, not to replace creative talent. Studios are already exploring AI to speed up prototyping and experiment with localization workflows. But beyond production, I also see generative AI as a vector for innovative gameplay. Imagine games that adapt narratively to each player, or worlds that evolve in real time based on player behavior. Brazilian studios, with their creative DNA and their habit of doing more with less, are well-positioned to use generative AI not just as a shortcut, but as a design innovation tool with very human hands and souls designing and iterating with it.'

Finally, what is Brazil Games’ long-term vision for helping position the country as a major hub for game development on the global stage?

Patricia Sato: Our long-term vision is to help position Brazil as a globally recognized hub for game development, not only for its creativity and adaptability, but also for its professionalism and collaborative mindset. There is a strong sense of cooperation within the Brazilian ecosystem, with studios growing together and supporting one another, and that translates into how we engage internationally. Ultimately, we want Brazilian studios to be seen as reliable and proactive partners, capable of building strong, lasting relationships across the global industry.

Rodrigo Terra and Patricia Sato from ABRAGAMES

Interview conducted by David Jagneaux