Video game creators should listen up! There is no shortage of opportunities for mobile game creators to find success in the Brazilian market. Because so many Brazilians utilize public transportation, they can kick back and relax while on the move. Passing the time by playing mobile video games is extremely common in this part of the world, so let’s examine some of the market opportunities for mobile gaming in Brazil.
A Look at the Brazilian Mobile Market
The Brazilian mobile gaming market is booming. Brazil is Latin America’s largest market for mobile gaming in regard to both the amount of players and how much revenue is generated. With more than 88.4 million players and over $1.0 billion in revenue expected in 2021, Brazil is a force to be reckoned with in the gaming community.
Why is this market in particular so hot right now? There’s a variety of factors contributing to this surge of growth in Brazil. Alongside the appeal of passing time on public transportation, taxation policy changes surrounding gaming consoles in recent years have helped the industry expand. The accessibility of mobile phones, in the sense that they are now affordable and most Brazilians have them, has also helped this industry thrive. According to Newzoo, the most commonly used gaming device in Brazil is the smartphone (83%), which leaves a lot of room for growth specifically in the mobile gaming industry.
What They’re Playing
Brazilians play a wide variety of mobile games. In 2020, the most downloaded mobile games from the Apple App Store were:
Free games
- ‘Among Us’
- ‘Garena Free Fire’
- ‘8 Ball Pool’
- ‘Call of Duty Mobile’
- ‘Brain Out’
- Subway Surfers
- ‘One!’
- ‘Magic Tiles 3: Piano Game’
- ‘Brain Test: Mind Games’
- ‘Gardenscapes’
Paid games
- ‘Minecraft’
- ‘Plague Inc.’
- ‘Pou’
- ‘Hitman Sniper’
- ‘RFS – Real Flight Simulator’
- ‘Farming Simulator 20’
- ‘Bully: Anniversary Edition’
- ‘True Skate’
- ‘GTA: Liberty City Stories’
- ‘Stardew Valley’
Why They’re Playing
Alongside passing time on long bus rides, Brazilians turn to video games to de-stress. Because of this, Brazilians tend to enjoy playing mobile games that are extremely immersive and that absorb them into the game, while distracting them from reality for a little while. Strategy, role-playing, and action games are super popular in Brazil because of their ability to be so engaging. Mobile game advertisers should look for opportunities to sell their games as a way to relax and escape everyday stressors like work.
The Future of this Market
Despite the growing popularity of video games in Brazil, there is still room for this market to expand. Only a little more than one-third of the Brazilian population expresses an interest in video games. Because those uninterested in games are unlikely to own gaming devices, there is a better chance that their first foray into gaming would be on a mobile device that they already own and use for other purposes. Brazil has a population of more than 212 million people and 81% of those people already own smartphones, making smartphone users a goldmine waiting to be tapped.
