"The next five years will be a transformative era for the Portuguese video games sector"

Pocket Gamer Connects heads to Barcelona on June 15th and 16th.

In the build up to the event, we've been reaching out to speakers and local companies to get their views on the games industry in Spain and the wider Iberia region - which includes Portugal.

We caught up with Jeferson Valadares, president of Portugal non-profit games industry association Associação de Produtores de Videojogos Portugueses (APVP), to discuss the state of the sector in the country, who the key players are, and how it has evolved in recent years.

PocketGamer.biz: How would you assess the Portuguese games scene at the moment?

Jeferson Valadares: Currently, national video game production is undergoing a phase of steady growth, showing clear signs of industry consolidation and emergence of promising early-stage talent.

Recent years have seen the emergence of more independent studios, with several Portuguese projects gaining significant international visibility.

While the industry remains smaller in scale than those in other European nations, there is a clear maturation of the ecosystem: between 2018 and 2024, the turnover of Portuguese video game companies surged from approximately €5.4 million to close to €100 million, representing a robust average annual growth rate of more than 56%.

The ecosystem is notably diverse, hosting a rich mix of indie creators, service providers, and major international players.

The mobile games sector serves as a particular engine of growth, anchored by global leaders like Miniclip and Fortis Games. Alongside these giants, Portugal is home to a tier of fast-growing studios such as Infinity Games, Volt Games, Phatfingers, and Joyglitch, as well as promising early-stage developers like Tiago Interactive, just to name a few.

The industry remains highly heterogeneous, bringing together companies with diverse profiles ranging from indie studios to teams involved in large-scale triple-A projects.

This growth is bolstered by a surge in specialised education, creating a talent pool that fuels IP holders, game tech and service providers alike.

A significant indicator of this maturity is the establishment of the IGDA Portugal chapter dedicated to empowering individual developers and students through community-building, knowledge sharing, and career advocacy.

What opportunities do you see in Portugal's games industry?

The Portuguese video game industry is increasingly fueled by a dynamic and evolving talent pool.

Rather than relying solely on general technical talent, the country now boasts dozens of schools offering specialised game-related courses. These programmes provide a diverse set of skills, spanning from game design and digital art to specialised AI and programming. 

Furthermore, a significant "reverse brain drain" effect is taking hold; many highly qualified seniors who moved abroad during the mid-2010s are now returning to Portugal, drawn by the expansion of the local ecosystem. APVP is actively working to bridge these seasoned veterans with the local community, ensuring their global expertise directly empowers early-stage studios.

This talent surge is supported by a rapidly maturing startup ecosystem, where Portugal is now recognised as a premier innovation destination.

A clear example of this is the Unicorn Factory Lisbon, which has been ranked among the top innovation hubs in Europe. Reflecting the country’s commitment to the sector, the Lisbon Gaming Hub has been active for the past three years and anchors the industry by providing the infrastructure, mentorship, and networking necessary for studios to scale.

Beyond Lisbon and Porto, Portugal’s islands are also emerging as attractive destinations for game studios and remote teams. Madeira, in particular, combines strong quality of life with competitive tax frameworks and growing institutional support for the creative and digital industries.

Initiatives such as the Madeira Games Summit are helping position the region as an emerging meeting point for international developers and investors. 

Beyond community and talent, Portugal offers a competitive edge through robust R&D and tech incentives. Significant tax benefits and innovation grants are increasingly being utilised by game tech companies and studios developing proprietary internal tools and engines.

By combining high-level technical research with a world-class startup infrastructure, Portugal has transformed from a talent exporter into a thriving hub where the gaming sector is a central pillar of the digital economy.

And what challenges do you see?

A primary area for evolution lies in the implementation of tailored financial and fiscal incentives specific to game production. APVP is actively collaborating with the Portuguese government to harmonise the local framework with other EU member states, seeking to implement specialised public programmes that mirror the successful models seen across Europe.

There is also a significant opportunity to further bridge the gap between academia and the professional world. While Portugal already has dozens of specialised schools covering everything from game AI to digital art, the focus is now shifting toward enhancing the practical aspects of these courses.

By evolving the onboarding process and integrating more hands-on, industry-aligned projects into the curriculum, the ecosystem can more effectively prepare its diverse student base for the needs of the industry.

The rapid advancement of AI presents another exciting frontier for the Portuguese market. While more consolidated studios are carefully integrating these technologies into their robust production pipelines, a wave of early-stage studios and young developers is already utilising AI to experiment and accelerate internal processes.

This agility allows the local industry to act as a dynamic testing ground for new methodologies, turning the global shift toward AI into a distinct local advantage.

Ultimately, the collective efforts driven by APVP are fostering a more structured and supportive environment for all players in the sector. The goal is to move beyond simple growth and toward a sophisticated maturity where the talent, technology, and fiscal environment work in harmony.

This proactive approach ensures that Portugal continues to transition from a talent exporter into a premier destination for international game development and innovation. 

What is your outlook for the sector? If we speak again in five years, where do you hope Portugal's games market to be? 

Looking ahead, the next five years will be a transformative era for the Portuguese video games sector, marked by a shift from being a talent exporter to a recognised powerhouse of original intellectual property.

We anticipate the release of major international titles with deep Portuguese roots, such as Dune: Awakening last year from Funcom. Our goal is to see the industry further evolve beyond service provision, maturing into an ecosystem where technology and creativity converge to produce games as both tech and cultural products.

By 2030, we expect to see the current wave of small teams owning and managing their own successful IPs, firmly establishing Portugal's creative identity on the world stage.

This vision is anchored by a community centered around the primary hubs of Lisbon and Porto. The industry's maturity is reflected in its ability to host prestigious international gatherings like gamescom dev Leadership Summit and DevGAMM, alongside the continued growth of Gamiberica, which serves as a vital bridge for the Ibero-American market.

These major events are bolstered by the consistent energy of local communities through recurring meetups like Game Break in Lisbon and Game Dev Meet in Porto. In five years, we hope to see these two hubs fully established as European centres of innovation, where a deep pool of domestic talent drives the next generation of global gaming hits.

What more do you want for the country's games scene? I.e. more support from government etc? 

To secure the long-term economic and cultural growth of our talent pool, we are shifting our focus toward the creation and retention of proprietary intellectual property. Portugal continues to face broader brain drain challenges across several industries. 

However, the games sector is currently in a unique position: we are increasingly retaining our bright youth while simultaneously attracting global senior talent who are choosing Portugal to launch ambitious new projects. 

In that sense, the industry has the potential to become a positive example of talent retention and international attraction for the country as a whole.

By demonstrating to the government that supporting our sector is an investment in high-value IP that stays within our borders, we are fueling a virtuous cycle where incoming experts mentor local graduates, building an increasingly sophisticated ecosystem.

As an emerging industry, our priority is to harmonise our tax structures and incentives with the EU and global leaders to ensure Portugal remains a competitive global hub. 

Another important step would be simplifying bureaucratic processes related to company creation, funding applications, and access to public support mechanisms.

Reducing administrative friction would allow studios (especially smaller and early-stage teams) to dedicate more resources to production and long-term growth.

This proactive approach isn't about fixing problems, but about enhancing a functional framework to help our studios bridge the gap between student projects and viable businesses through pre-production grants and prototype funding.

Who do you see as the key players in the Portuguese games scene in 2026?

The Portuguese ecosystem is defined by its remarkable diversity, anchored by global heavyweights like Miniclip, Funcom, and Saber Interactive, all of whom have established large-scale operations in the country.

This consolidation has been fueled by strategic acquisitions that transformed local talent into international hubs: Fortis Games integrated the startup Doppio, Funcom acquired ZPX, and Saber brought Porto’s Bigmoon into its fold.

These major players are now being joined by a new wave of "soft-landing" successes, most notably Studio Ellipsis (part of the FunPlus group): having scaled to over 40 professionals in just two years, they exemplify the industry’s shift toward high-value IP and transmedia with their ambitious new title, Nightholme.

Similarly, the evolution of PhatFingers (now part of the Voodoo group) demonstrates the local ecosystem's ability to rapidly mature and scale studios for the global market.

Beyond direct game production, Portugal has emerged as a vital center for game-tech, too. Specialised companies like Anybrain, Didimo, Testwaves and Moolu are developing cutting-edge solutions that address complex global industry challenges.

Complementing this tech layer is Aptoide, a long-time pioneer in the alternative app store market.

As Europe’s Digital Markets Act takes effect, Aptoide’s expertise in distribution is taking centre stage, further cementing Portugal’s position as a multifaceted hub where world-class IP, innovative technology, and global distribution platforms converge.