Latin America's many mobile devs tell us what makes the region so special for gaming
- Gamescom LatAm saw plenty of new and existing developers showing off their games
- And we put one simple question to them: What makes LatAm so great for games?
- Find out what they had to say!
As you might be aware, I've been in Brazil. Specifically attending Gamescom Latam 2026, one of the biggest gaming festivals in the southern hemisphere. Naturally, I've had thoughts about why this Gamescom felt so distinct (and more energetic) than others, such as Cologne. But I'm just some guy who writes news. What do the people on the ground actually think about it?
Well, that's what this article is about, as I went around getting a quick quote from some of the folks who make games in Brazil and Latin America, asking them one simple question: "What makes LatAm (and Brazil) so special for games?"
Bonuses: Airdorf, Alan and Jande
But, as you may've guessed, it wasn't just mobile devs I spoke to. I also got the chance to interview Faith creator Airdorf, speak to Double Dash dev Jande Farias and put my questions to Scopely's head of marketing for Pokémon Go in Latin America, Alan Mandujano.All three are very different to the above, but with their own perspective on the region, with Alan handling promotion of Pokémon Go's virtual events (including the upcoming Go Fest), while Airdorf's supernatural horror-thriller carries a huge amount of influence from growing up surrounded by members of the Latin American community which influenced its themes and lore, not to mention Jande from Double Dash having started off working on translating one of Cartoon Network's biggest series into mobile.
Alan
"I think LATAM is a very passionate region. I think that level of passion, of engagement, is something that is not very easy to find elsewhere. Our players really either hate something or love something, but Latin America is not in between. So with all these games, with all this passion, you see that players really embrace games and the things they love in a very unique way. And I think that's really the power of the region."
Airdorf
"You will rarely find a more passionate player base than in Latin America. I lived in Argentina for a couple of years, and I got to know the people and lots of nationalities in South America, and they get very enthusiastic about the stuff that they love. So if you want to open up a new market where the player base is very passionate, then I would recommend Latin America."
Jande, meanwhile, is an interesting example, as while Double Dash's latest project is a purely PC venture, they actually got their start in mobile. And those of you reading this from Latin America may recognise them from their mobile adaptation of hit Cartoon Network property Jorel's Brother, one of the network's most popular cartoons in the region.
Jande (Double Dash Studios)
"I think we have a very unique vision and a different culture. Whenever there's a different culture creating art, you're going to have something different. We are so used to games coming from certain parts of the world that when you get games that come from a different part of the world, you're going to get something new. And I think that's really exciting.
"There's so many cool Brazilian games coming out right now, and they are so different from what we usually see that I think it's going to change a lot of the landscape, especially in indie games, that we're going to see throughout the next [few] years."
So, whether it's some of the devs just starting out or with already hefty pedigrees, I think it's safe to say that LatAm is the place to be for new developers! If you want to stay in tune with great releases the world over, be sure to check out our list of the best mobile games of 2026 (so far)!
And click on through to see the thoughts of some other developers!
1
Pedro - Towermancer II (Digital Synapsis)
"I think we have a rich culture here in Brazil, and the mixture of all these kinds of thoughts and artistic ways of thinking gives us some great games to work on, great people to reach [in order] to work together. We are creative people, and in the past, many people left Brazil to build games, but now we have more access to courses, to indie games, to indie companies. So we're building something great here, from the indie perspective." (Pedro pictured right.)
2
Agustin - Go Slime Go! (Tembac and Chabbie)
"Latin America has a very creative ecosystem, a very creative culture. We are really happy people. We really love to dance, we really love music, we really love art. I think that makes us special for video games because we bring other points of view from the south of the world. Also, we have a lot of talent because (this is not a very known fact in other countries), but we did a lot of web games. Cartoon Network had offices in Argentina, so we did most of their [Flash] games. That made us like a specialist on video games, and right now we want to make our own games that will feel new for everyone that are not used to the Latin American way."
3
Mattheus - Sportia (Hermit Crab Games)
"I think it has the creativity and the feeling about gaming because the people here love playing games and [for them it is] more than entertainment, it's a culture. So I think all the devs dream to work on games, and we are doing that with passion, with happiness, with energy. And I think this feeling, you will find that in the games [we create]."
4
Lucas - Kakele Online (Viva Games)
"So I think the Latin-American players, they are very passionate about the games they're playing. So when they play a game, they're not just, you know, 'let me try this game'. They really try it, give feedback and when you are running a game for years, they will try their best to reach out to you and provide feedback and also ask for new features. I think that's what makes the Latin American [gaming] community special." (Lucas pictured top right.)
5
Kainan - Sunny Trails (Sunny Team)
"I believe that the reason why Light America is so important for games is that we have an ecosystem with people who have much passion for what they do, and also so many different cultural backgrounds that we can bring into the games." (Kainan pictured right.)
6
Hugo - Rogue Reigns (Venn Studios)
"I'd say there's this kind of hustle ethics, like people want to do different things. And I think for a nice game, you should not be too specialised, especially when you have small teams. So people kind of do more than one job or tackle more than one task they needed. And I think that's key for making any of these creative projects further because doing games is really hard. (Hugo pictured left.)
7
Raphael - Case Solved (Minimoi Games)
"I believe diversity is the main thing because we have different people, different, a lot of things, so that echoes in the games that we make and that's part of why I believe it's great for making games here."
8
Tiago - Black Sailors (Mandinga Games)
"I guess Latin America is special for gaming because we are really open to other culture. We want to understand other places, and points of view. We like to learn stories from everywhere. So gaming is a really good platform to show stories, to tell different point of views.
"And I think we are all open to that. [In comparison] you have some places that consume strictly specific types of gaming. And I think in Latin America we consume all kinds of gaming, you know, because we are open to it. So it's a place that we consume everything."
