How Brazil’s games industry is building its global future

Brazil’s games industry has long been on a mission to promote itself on the global stage. 

Through BIG Festival and now Gamescom LATAM, the sector aims to engage consumers with local and international games.

On the business side, the event acts as an opportunity to attract international publishers, investors and media - in some cases paying for flights and accommodation to bring them over. The ultimate goal: market its growing hub, promote its games on the world stage and potentially cut deals.

“I do have some indication already of the impact we had during Gamescom LATAM,” says Brazil Games executive operations manager Patrícia Sato. “This one had the best return of investment from our companies.

“It is a trend that has been happening with the trade shows we attend.”

She adds: “We feel like we are in a good place now and we can really proudly showcase the games we have, and also the services, of course.”

Going global

Not just hosting its own shows, Brazil Games - the international export program for the industry in partnership with trade association Abragames and trade and investment promotion agency ApexBrasil - has been taking its studios around the world, too.

At Gamescom, Brazil Games once again had a B2B booth. But not just that, the organisation hosted its first-ever dedicated Brazil Indie Pavilion in the consumer expo, too, with 35 games on show. Gamescom saw countries across the world build a substantial presence, including South Korea.

More recently, Brazil Games also took 31 games companies - including 12 playable titles, 21 studios and 55 people in the delegation - to Japan for the Tokyo Game Show 2026 with its largest-ever presence at the event. It follows from the organisation’s first official participation last year.

“I have a very strong opinion about the whole ‘are trade shows important or not’? I think they are,” says Sato.

“Sometimes, as Brazil is ginormous, most of our companies we can only meet at the international events. It’s so funny that we have to get out of Brazil to talk to those guys that are also Brazilians.

“For us, it’s very important to establish these connections. And you can imagine how important it matters for you to keep your partnerships and business partnerships running as well.”

International inspiration

Some of the most recognisable hubs in the world right now include Türkiye, China and Sweden, each finding global success in unique areas and from different drivers. For example, Türkiye’s success is supported by ample government support, talent from well established developers setting up new studios and a sector that’s attracting significant funding - some of that from homegrown investors.

Brazil has been building its industry for a long time, particularly becoming known in more recent years for its co-development and outsourcing businesses.

Meanwhile, a new legal framework for the industry has been established that could pave the way for new growth opportunities. We already reported on the progress of the Brazil Games Accelerator, which has entered its first year aftee welcoming 40 studios looking to build their businesses.

Abragames president Rodrigo Terra says they’ve been inspired by new and growing markets like Türkiye and India, but also sees inspiration and potential cooperation elsewhere.

“We want to build the global South now, so we need to join forces to do that,” he says, calling out countries like South Africa and New Zealand, and places that may see Brazil itself as an inspiration in terms of how it’s looking to build its industry.

While there’s a legal framework, there’s still a lot to be done to truly shape how it can impact the industry, in terms of grants and tax relief. Terra hopes by the end of 2027, 80% of the work will be done to get the full mechanisms for support in place.

“It takes time, I mean it’s politics, it takes time. You need to be present, you need to be resilient and be there all the time.”