NEWSLETTER – October

October was a month of great anticipation and work. In addition to analyzing the new event that has been added to our schedule, the Tokyo Game Show, and evaluating the results of the 1st Brazil Games Roadshow, projects for next year are already on the agenda. The Roadshow began with Patrícia Sato, manager of the Brazil Games Project, a partnership between Abragames (Brazilian Association of Game Developers) and ApexBrasil (Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency), visiting three Brazilian capitals: Porto Alegre, Brasília and Fortaleza. The goal is to continue the visits to other states and cities, and the idea is to exchange ideas, present the Project and, most importantly, listen to the different regions and their issues regarding the country’s games industry.

The Brazil Games Roadshow passed through Porto Alegre, Brasília and Fortaleza, between September 16th and 20th, under the command of the Brazil Games Sector Project Manager. The manager of the Brazil Games Sector Project, Patrícia Sato, visited Porto Alegre (September 16), Brasília (September 18) and Fortaleza (September 20) to talk to game development companies in these regions. On the occasion, in addition to listening to questions from each of the destinations visited, the executive presented the Brazil Games Sector Project’s planning for the next two years, highlighting the National Accelerator for Game Studios, whose objective is to strengthen Brazilian companies so that they can develop robust and sustainable business models that help drive internationalization.

The event, a partnership between ApexBrasil (Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency) and Abragames, was an excellent experience, which allowed local companies to exchange information and ideas about the market and the gaming industry, as well as networking and identifying business opportunities. This was the first stage of the event, which also intends to visit other cities in the country. “Roadshow Brazil Games is part of our mission to understand the particularities of each region of the country to give a voice to national game developers in a more personalized and assertive way,” explains Patrícia Sato. “Being on-site and getting to know the day-to-day activities of the studios allows us to create more effective actions when promoting them globally.” Find out more on Brazil Games social media.

Brazil was present at the event, held in Chiba from September 26 to 29. Through the Brazil Games Sector Project, a group of national studios participated in the 2024 edition of the Tokyo Game Show, one of the world’s leading gaming events, which took place from September 26 to 29 in the capital of Japan. During the event, the Sector Project and the companies participated in meetings and strategic meetings with important companies, executives and entities in the sector. The meetings’ main agenda was business opportunities, new projects and investments in the game development market. The Brazilian delegation was made up of six associated companies:

• gamescom latam
• Mad Mimic
• Nuuvem
• RoundTable Studios
• Tempo Filmes
• VR Monkey

The event was a great opportunity to expand contacts with players from Asia and give more international visibility to projects developed and carried out in Brazil. Patricia Sato, manager of the Brazil Games Sector Project and responsible for coordinating the delegation, showed participants the potential of the Project for generating new business. “Participating in the Tokyo Game Show is a great opportunity for Brazilian companies to expand their networking with important players in the sector, especially in Asia, and to once again showcase the unique features and quality of our projects. The Brazilian industry is experiencing a period of great growth and visibility, and this trust from companies around the world is directly associated with the close ties our studios have been building with international players over the past few years. We will continue to open doors and take Brazil’s name to the world’s leading gaming events,” said Patrícia Sato.

Regulation encourages gaming industry to export Brazilian culture is the subject of an article Raquel Gontijo, Director of Institutional and Government Relations at Abragames, wrote an article, published by Congresso em Foco, about the Regulation of Games. Raquel begins by talking about the profound transformation in production models and values that govern the economy. “Future generations will possibly look back on this period and study it as a revolution that was not limited to technology, but that also impacted the structure and social fabric. The way we communicate and create value, products and services has been significantly changed by dynamics such as games, social media, digital interaction and artificial intelligence.” She explains a little about the historic achievement of the Brazilian gaming sector in the first half of 2024 with the approval and sanction of the Legal Framework for Games, the first legislation on the subject in the country. “Although Brazil was one of the last members of the G20 to regulate the sector, the law already comes with more advanced aspects than practically all global regulations”, she analyzes. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.

With the ‘Women and International Business’ program, ApexBrasil won the WTPO Awards 2024, in Geneva. MNI won in the category “Best initiative that ensures the inclusion and sustainability of a business”. The WTPO Awards are held every two years and recognize trade promotion organizations from around the world that develop innovative initiatives to support small businesses and promote the competitiveness of exporting companies. The Award gives special attention to companies that focus on gender inclusion and the sustainable development of economies. The award ceremony took place in Geneva on 10/1/24 and was attended by Ana Paula Repezza, business director of ApexBrasil (Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency) and creator of the winning program. During the event, Ana highlighted that the Award “is proof that we are on the right track.” The director added: “I would like to express my gratitude to the ApexBrasil team and the partners of the Women and International Business program who made this dream possible for all of us.” For more information, read the full article here.

The initiative by ApexBrasil, Sebrae and the Ministry of Finance aims to get to know entrepreneurs and their businesses. Abragames’ Head of Biz Dev, Yaya Torre, and Brazil Games Project Manager, Patrícia Sato, attended the launch of the Acredita program, held on 10/18/24. The Program consists of a set of measures to support Brazilian entrepreneurship and has a new package of measures to encourage small businesses. The highlight was the announcement of the credit line for the National Support Program for Micro and Small Businesses (Pronampe), which will receive R$150 million in guarantees from the Federal Government, allowing R$1 billion in credit to be leveraged for small entrepreneurs in the metropolitan region of São Paulo affected by the blackout following the rains of October 11.

Furthermore, the presence of the President of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the Vice-President, Geraldo Alckmin, the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, the President of BNDES, Aloizio Mercadante, and the President of ApexBrasil (Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency), Jorge Viana, was essential for the officialization of the project. This initiative seeks not only to boost the Brazilian economy, but also to promote the development of small business owners throughout the country.

Studio 85 represented our country at The Pitch Competition. Studio 85 is an independent game studio formed by programmers, game designers and artists. The union of these professionals aims to develop original and cultural games. During gamescom Asia, held from October 17 to 20, 2024, in Singapore, Studio 85 stood out as the only Brazilian and American studio among the 13 selected for the prestigious The Pitch Competition, one of the main highlights of the event. On October 18th, the team had the opportunity to take the stage and present their game ‘Magicards’ to an international audience. This experience not only raised the studio’s profile, but also highlighted Brazilian talent on the global stage, opening new doors for negotiations and collaborations in different regions of the world. For more information about the event and the Pitch, visit the event website.

In 2024, Abragames became a partner of DevGAMM Lisbon and obtained special benefits for our members. DevGAMM is the perfect meeting to do business, meet new game developers and share experiences, having a great opportunity for networking. The event, which will take place on November 14th and 15th, 2024, in Lisbon, Portugal, has entered into a special partnership with Abragames, which allows members to receive discounts on event credentials. To learn more about this benefit, simply contact our team and include one of the coupons made available exclusively to Abragames members. In addition, the DevGAMM Awards will be held this year. Developers had the opportunity to submit their games until September 30th. The nominees received a ticket to the ceremony in Lisbon – 537 game names have already been selected and are available on the event website. The winner of the DevGAMM Awards will receive a cash prize and voting is open to the public until October 27th.

On 10/16, associated studios had the opportunity to present their company. On October 16, three Abragames-associated studios had the opportunity to present their pitches to the EA XDI team. Each presentation lasted 20 minutes; then a 10-minute feedback session allowed XDI team members to share their impressions on the delivery and content of the proposals. The event not only allowed studios to receive valuable guidance, but also provided a space for other studios to watch and learn from the process, further enriching the exchange of experiences.

SafeSpace is a technology company with a mission: to build safer, more inclusive workplaces. Safe Space is a company that focuses on diversity and inclusion. In order to teach how to communicate in an inclusive way, improving understanding and communication in the workplace, they have made available an educational and easy-to-read E-book to help with the use of language and promote interactive actions that avoid exclusion. In this material you will find:

• Inclusive Communication
• Differences between neutral language and inclusive communication.
• How to communicate without gender discrimination.
• Respect for all ethnicities and people with disabilities and neurodiversity.

Click here to learn more.

MAPFRE is an opportunity to transform ideas into real impact – Mobility, Health and Economy. The MAPFRE Foundation Awards for Social Innovation were created in 2017 with the aim of promoting projects that generate a positive impact on our communities and that can be replicated in different contexts. With the launch of a new edition of these awards, the entity reaffirms its commitment to finding solutions to the real problems faced by people. This new call is open to projects developed in four major regions: Brazil, the rest of Latin America, Europe and the United States. Projects must address the following categories:

• Safe and sustainable mobility
• Senior Economy
• Health Improvement and Digital Technology (e-Health)

If you are working on an initiative that promotes social justice, inclusion and sustainability, and that has the potential to generate a multiplier effect on social change, see how to apply until November 30th.

About ABRAGAMES Created in 2004 by a group of developmental companies, ABRAGAMES, the Brazilian Association of Game Developers, emerged as a non -profit entity with the objective of strengthening the national game development industry. The mission of ABRAGAMES is to coordinate, strengthen and promote the Brazilian Industry of Digital Games through the representation and dialogue of the national and international ecosystem, building an understanding of all the elements of our value chain, as well as the promotion of events and partnerships that bring to the state of the art the development of the game industry in Brazil. About Brazil Games The Brazil Games Export Sectoral Project is a non -profit program, created by Abragames (Brazilian Association of Game Developers) in partnership with Apexbrasil (Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency), with the objective of strengthening the Brazilian industry of Digital games, training and creating new business opportunities for Brazilian companies in the international market. About ApexBrasil The Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apexbrasil) operates to promote Brazilian products and services abroad and attract foreign investments to strategic sectors of the Brazilian economy. To achieve the objectives, ApexBrasil carries out diverse trade promotion actions aimed at promoting exports and valuing Brazilian products and services abroad, such as prospective and commercial missions, business rounds, support for the participation of Brazilian companies in large international fairs, visits of foreign buyers and opinion makers to know the Brazilian productive structure among other business platforms that also aim to strengthen the Brazil brand. The agency also acts in a coordinated manner with public and private actors to attract direct foreign investments (IED) to Brazil focused on strategic sectors for the development of the competitiveness of Brazilian companies and the country. Disclaimer: As informações de terceiros incluídos os jogos, eventos patrocinados ou não, apresentados nesta Newsletter podem não refletir a opinião da Abragames e do Projeto Brazil Games.