Argentina levels up in global video game market

By Cecilia Caminos

Buenos Aires, Jul 17 (efe-epa).- Argentina has leveled up in the global video game market thanks to homegrown talent, competitive costs and a surge in demand during Covid lockdowns.

The South American country has more than 120 development studios and 83 percent of video games created last year were exported internationally.

A number of large companies in the field have opened offices in the country or hired local developers and creatives.

“I emphasize creativity and quality a lot. That creative Argentine gene when it comes to generating content or selling business models on technological bases positions us as a differentiator,” Mauricio Navajas, president of the Argentine Video Game Developers Association (ADVA), said.

There appears to be a bright future in the industry in the Latin America despite the crisis brought about by the coronavirus pandemic which has sparked a recession which could affect the region for two years.

The industry is divided in half between games for consoles and computers and smartphone applications.

Phone apps are growing at a rate of 25 to 30 percent a year compared to around five percent for consoles and computers.

Darío Simonassi, vice president of engineering at Wildlife Studios, said the future of the industry is clearly in mobiles.

Wildlife, a unicorn Brazilian gaming company that was valued at more than $1 billion before its debut on the stock market, recently opened an office in Buenos Aires.