Video Game Industry Latin America 2024

Key insights

4 slides

Key number

Latin America's gaming revenue was under 4% of the world total.

The region generated about $5.4 billion in video game revenue in 2019, against a global total of $135.8 billion.

$5.4 billion

Video game revenue in Latin America, 2019

Global total: $135.8 billion
Gamers in the region, 2019: 252.6 million

Mobile momentum

The region was the fastest-growing digital games market in 2019.

Expected growth for the region was +11.1%, driven by rising smartphone ownership and strong demand for mobile games.

Mobile growth. Mobile game users grew +50% from 2017-2020 in the region.

+11.1%

Expected growth of the digital games market in Latin America

Projected smartphone owners by 2024: 690 million
Mobile game users, 2017-2020: +50%

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Summary

This document examines the video game market in Latin America, positioning the region as a large consumer base with substantial growth potential but limited domestic production capacity. Its central thesis is that Latin America's demand for games is strong, yet the region remains primarily an importer of content, with production concentrated in a few countries and constrained by shortages of trained professionals, limited investment, and uneven internet infrastructure.

The figures presented show the region generating about $5.4 billion in video game revenue in 2019, under 4% of a global total of $135.8 billion. Mexico and Brazil lead in 2020 revenues at $1.9 billion and $1.75 billion respectively, together accounting for roughly two-thirds of regional income, while Colombia and Argentina follow. Other markets such as Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, and Guatemala recorded faster revenue growth between 2016 and 2020 than the world average of 80%. The region is credited with 252.6 million gamers in 2019, more than all of North America, and smartphone ownership is projected to reach 690 million by 2024, with mobile gaming identified as a particularly accessible segment for local developers.

The analysis highlights structural advantages, including a young population, high STEM graduate counts in Mexico and Brazil, and regional cooperation through the Latam Video Games Federation, formed in 2015 by associations from eleven countries. It also points to industry events such as Brazil's BIG Festival and Argentina's Expo EVA as platforms for developing the sector. Limitations are acknowledged, notably uneven broadband access and the dominance of foreign AAA studios operating in the region. The document is a 2021 market overview with data drawn primarily from industry and market-research sources, and its methodology is not detailed on the page.