Argentine Videogame Industry

The Argentine Videogame Industry overview, produced by the Argentine Game Developers Association (ADVA), presents a picture of a fast-growing, export-oriented sector centered on Buenos Aires. It describes an industry of roughly 65 companies employing more than 2,000 professionals, with programmers and graphic artists accounting for the largest share of jobs and a high level of university-level training among company executives. Most firms are nationally funded, and nine in ten are headquartered in Buenos Aires City.

Between 2006 and 2011, company revenues rose by 156 percent and employment more than doubled, and the outlook for 2012 anticipated revenue growth of nearly 50 percent and a 34 percent increase in on-site workers. Exports dominate the sector, accounting for 95 percent of sales, with 80 percent of surveyed companies serving clients in the United States and Canada, often through European intermediaries. Latin America and the Caribbean represent a secondary market for 42 percent of firms, while Asia, Africa, and Oceania play a comparatively minor role.

The document also outlines the government and association support that underpins the sector's international reach, including participation in major industry events such as Gamescom, the Game Developers Conference, and Game Connection America, commercial missions to San Francisco, an exportable offer catalogue, and domestic events like the EVA Argentine Videogames Expo and the MICA cultural industries market. The findings are based on ADVA's survey of member companies, and the report closes with a directory of its active members.