Game developer boss at Compulsion Games advises Brazilian team to incorporate game discoverability as a fundamental aspect during game development.
Brazil, a vibrant market for gaming, offers opportunities for developers seeking to improve their game's discoverability. Guillaume Provost, founder of Compulsion Games, a studio known for developing titles such as We Happy Few and South of Midnight, views Brazil as a leading emerging market in the game industry.
To succeed in this market, localization is key. Developers should localize their games to Brazilian Portuguese and incorporate culturally relevant themes and narratives. This approach can significantly enhance player engagement, as Brazilian gamers value culturally tailored experiences. A deep understanding of the local gaming culture, including preferences for specific genres, helps developers create games that resonate better with the audience.
Mobile gaming is another crucial area. Brazil ranks among the top mobile game markets by downloads worldwide, with mobile games being highly popular across the region. Developers should adopt innovative marketing strategies, including strong user acquisition campaigns and hybrid monetization models that blend various revenue streams like in-app purchases and ads, to attract and retain users more effectively.
Engaging with the rapidly growing esports scene can also boost visibility. Esports sponsorships, advertising during tournaments, and community engagement around competitive gaming can increase a developer's reach in this vibrant market. In 2023, Brazil had nearly 25 million active esports users, and this number is expected to exceed 33 million by 2028.
Compulsion Games, founded in 2009 and acquired by Microsoft in 2018, embodies this approach. They build all trailers internally as part of their pre-production pipeline, even crafting narratives specifically for marketing purposes. The studio embeds marketing into the very fabric of their games by answering the 'audience' question during pre-production.
Guillaume Provost, with extensive experience in the video game industry, advises developers with budgets under $10 million and teams of fewer than 40 employees to focus on what makes their game unique and how it can stand out in a crowded market. He compares the current state of the game industry in Brazil to Montreal two decades ago, with a high number of independent studios collaborating.
However, Provost also highlights a challenge: discoverability on various digital storefronts. He believes that Brazil is still seeking a large employer to act as an anchor and spread expertise throughout the region. Provost has served as an advisor at Kowloon Nights, a global content fund, demonstrating his commitment to supporting the game industry's growth.
In summary, Brazilian game developers can improve discoverability by localizing content culturally and linguistically, focusing on mobile platforms with innovative marketing and monetization, and engaging with the expanding esports ecosystem as well as popular digital distribution channels.
- To capture the attention of Brazilian gamers who value culturally tailored experiences, developers should localize their games by translating them into Brazilian Portuguese, incorporating culturally relevant themes, and embedding marketing into the very fabric of their games.
- As mobile gaming continues to thrive in Brazil, developers should adopt innovative marketing strategies such as strong user acquisition campaigns and hybrid monetization models to stand out in the crowded mobile game market and retain users effectively.
