Brazil, a gaming giant
It has the biggest player base in Latin America and is the second largest gaming market.
Brazil, by far the largest and most populated country in Latin America, is the regional leader in nearly every single category: from biodiversity to Football World Cups won, including coffee exports.
That’s why it comes as no surprise that it has the greatest amount of gamers in the region –75,7 million players¹– and is second only to Mexico in terms of income: the gaming industry will make 1.6 billion dollars this year, 12,5% more than in 2018².
Brazil is not only a big game consumer, but also a big producer: there are roughly 880 video game studios (more than in Korea, Spain or Germany) with a total of about 4,000 employees³.
Who’s playing?
Like everywhere else in the world, Brazilian gamers are people of all ages, genders, and socioeconomic levels, with wildly different interests and behaviors.
They also have different ways of relating to videogames: only 33% of them consider themselves hardcore gamers, while the remaining 67% identify as casual gamers. They differ in how often and how long they play, and the platforms and titles they choose. Still, 64% of all gamers say video games are one of their main forms of entertainment⁴.
Besides, 59% of Brazil’s online population watches some kind of video content about gaming. In fact, 16% watch it even if they don’t play themselves.
Mobile leads the way
In the last two years Brazil’s gamer population grew 28%, mostly because of the increase in smartphone ownership⁵.
Currently half of the country’s internet users (50% of men and 51% of women) enjoy mobile games. Over half of them (56%) devote over 40 minutes a day to this hobby, peaking at 9 PM⁶.
Mobile games –whether for phones or tablets– now hold 40% of Brazil’s video game income. By 2021 they’re expected to have a share of 50%, while PC games will be at 23% and consoles at 27%.
Hurdles for monetization
Like in many other Latin American countries, one of the obstacles gaming has is the lack of access to banking services, which hinders in-app purchases. Acording to the World Bank, Brazil has 55 million adults outside of the finance system, and alternative payment methods don’t quite suit the sector’s needs.
Out of the gamers that do pay to play, 83% of them bought virtual goods or in-game benefits in the past six months. Expansions and DLCs were purchased by 38% of men and 35% of women.
In conclusion, it seems access to the world of gaming will continue to grow, boosted by the growing penetration of smartphones. For brand, the challenge is to find innovative ways to use this medium in order to reach the audiences they seek with attractive and effective experiences.
¹ Newzoo, Brazil Games Market 2018.
² Newzoo, Global Games Market Report 2019.
³ BID, Los videojuegos no son un juego, 2019.
⁴ Sioux Group, Go Gamers, ESPM, Blend, Pesquisa Game Brasil 2019.
⁵ Bianca Lopez y Ralf Germer, “Brazil’s tricky and booming gaming industry”, en The Paypers, 26/06/19.
⁶On Device Research, Informe Mobile Gaming Latam 2019
