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Preface
Brazil stands as Latin America’s largest and fastest-growing gaming market, with USD 2.467 billion in revenue and nearly 90 million gamers in 2024. A mobile-first user base, improving digital payments—especially through Pix—and a culturally diverse audience present significant opportunities for international developers. While monetisation remains below global averages, localisation, Android optimisation, and hybrid revenue models offer clear pathways to deeper market penetration and long-term growth.
Key Takeaways
- Brazil is the largest gaming market in Latin America, with nearly 90 million users and over 2.4 billion USD in annual revenue.
- Over 60% of Brazilian gamers play primarily on mobile, making mobile optimisation essential for market success.
- Despite solid digital payment infrastructure, Brazil’s ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) remains low, highlighting an opportunity to boost user spending.
- The prevalence of low-storage Android devices necessitates performance and package size optimisation to reduce friction and churn.
- A balanced gender split and wide age range support broad appeal across game genres, particularly adventure, action, and strategy.
- Deep cultural integration and influencer-led marketing on social media can drive engagement and long-term retention.
- Combining in-app purchases with ad-based revenue and offering localized payment options (Pix, cards, digital wallets) can improve conversion rates.
Introduction
As the largest gaming market in Latin America, Brazil leads the region in both market size and user base. In 2024, Brazil’s gaming market generated total revenue of USD 2.467 billion, with nearly 90 million gamers. The large and youthful population, high internet penetration, and the booming eSports culture continue to fuel the rapid expansion of the country’s gaming industry.
In recent years, Brazil’s digital payment environment has been significantly enhanced, notably with the rapid adoption of Pix, the real-time payment system launched by the Central Bank. However, the annual ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) in Brazil remains considerably lower than the global average, indicating that its monetisation potential is still far from fully realised. For Chinese game developers and publishers expanding into Brazil, improving localised payment experiences, diversifying in-game purchase options, and encouraging ad interactions offer promising pathways to stimulate user spending and unlock long-tail market value.
Brazilian gamers show a clear preference for mobile platforms, with over 60% of users primarily playing on mobile devices. The market is characterised by a balanced gender distribution and a wide range of age groups, creating opportunities across diverse game genres. In terms of content preferences, adventure, action, and strategy games are particularly popular among Brazilian users.
The Brazilian market is predominantly Android-based, with many devices featuring relatively low storage capacity. Chinese game developers and publishers should prioritise the optimisation of game package sizes and performance to lower download and installation barriers, ensuring smooth operation on Android devices. This approach can significantly improve user experience, reduce user churn caused by device limitations, and broaden product penetration across the Brazilian market.
Given Brazil’s rich cultural diversity, game developers and publishers must develop a deep understanding of the local cultural and incorporate those elements into their game design to foster stronger user resonance. At the same time, Brazil’s vibrant social media landscape presents substantial marketing opportunities. Collaborating with local KOLs and launching localised content campaigns and interactive initiatives can help attract target audiences, strengthen user engagement, enhance brand influence, and improve long-term user retention.
Given that Brazilian users’ spending power remains below the global average, Chinese game developers and publishers should adopt a hybrid monetisation strategy combining in-app advertising and in-app purchases to cater to different user spending behaviours. Additionally, offering multiple payment options, including Pix, local credit cards, debit cards, and local e-wallets, can help lower payment barriers, improve conversion rates, and ultimately drive revenue growth.
Current state of Brazil’s gaming market
Market size: Brazil leads Latin America’s gaming market
Brazil has become one of the largest gaming markets in Latin America and one of the fastest-growing emerging gaming markets globally. According to Statista, in 2024, Brazil’s gaming market revenue is expected to reach approximately USD 2.467 billion, surpassing Mexico (USD 1.710 billion), the second-largest market in Latin America, and far exceeding Argentina (USD 559 million) and other regional countries.
User base: Brazil’s gaming population is enormous
Brazil has a substantial gaming user base. According to Statista, in 2024, gamers accounted for 42.6% of Brazil’s total population, an increase of 1.3% from the previous year. With a total population of 212 million, this means Brazil’s gaming user base could reach approximately 90 million people. Such a large user base positions Brazil as one of the most promising gaming markets globally.
Competitive landscape
Rapid growth of local game companies in Brazil
In recent years, Brazil’s domestic gaming industry has experienced significant growth, with an increase in both scale and vitality. According to a joint survey published in 2023 by the Brazilian Game Industry Association (Abragames) and the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil), the number of game development studios in Brazil has grown from 133 in 2014 to 1,042 in 2023, an almost eightfold increase. The most rapid growth occurred between 2018 and 2023, with the number of companies surging from 375 to 1,042, a 177% increase over five years.
At the same time, the number of industry professionals has grown rapidly. The number of local game industry workers in Brazil has increased from 1,704 in 2014 to 13,225 in 2023, demonstrating the industry’s strong capacity to attract talent and drive employment. Emerging companies and projects continue to increase, and the local ecosystem is maturing. Brazil is gradually becoming a significant global gaming development hub, with increasing influence in Latin America and beyond.
Popular games in Brazil
Popular games in Brazil come from a wide range of global developers and publishers, including those from China, Northern Europe, Israel, and other regions. According to mobile game app data, Candy Crush, Royal Match, and Last War: Survival are the top three best-selling games on the App Store, while Roblox, Free Fire, and Coin Master dominate the top three best-sellers on Google Play.
Chinese game developers and publishers expanding into Brazil
Chinese game developers and publishers such as Tencent, NetEase, miHoYo, and Mutong Technology have recognised the potential of the Brazilian market and are expanding their presence there. For example, Tencent’s League of Legends and PUBG Mobile have already achieved great popularity among core players in Brazil. At the end of 2021, aiming to further unify its global publishing and operations strategy, Tencent launched its international brand, Level Infinite, which oversees all planning, development, publishing, and marketing for markets outside of China. On June 28, 2022, Level Infinite officially entered Brazil, expanding Tencent’s footprint in Latin America and underscoring Brazil’s massive appeal. In March 2023, Honor of Kings, published by Level Infinite, launched its international version in Brazil. Thanks to strong localisation efforts and high-quality product promotion, the game topped the local iOS mobile game download charts for a month, further solidifying the position of Chinese game developers and publishers in the Brazilian market.
