Gamescom LATAMis taking place right now. 2025 marks the second annual showcase of the South American version of what has become the biggest convention in the industry. Over the course of that time, the four-day-long festival in São Paulo, Brazil has seen record-breaking numbers, with last year’s inaugural event topping 330,000 attendees.Gamescom LATAM 2025is now firmly established as a major gathering bringing aspiring indie developers and players from the region together with big-name publishers and other notable outlets.
At this year’s show, Game Rant sat down with Gamescom LATAM CEO Gustavo Steinberg to talk more about the showcase’s impact and importance to the business as a whole. Steinberg highlighted Latin America’s shifting dynamic in the gaming market, discussing how it has been gaining prominence as fertile ground for both local developers to showcase their projects and formajor game publishersand investors from around the world to recruit new talent.
Gamescom LATAM CEO Gustavo Steinberg on Latin America’s Place Within the Video Game Market
The Latin American Gaming Market’s Unique Position
When asked about his thoughts on what makes the Latin American market so important and special, Steinberg responded:
One: the number of gamers that we have. It’s bigger now than theNorth American gaming market– 350 million players against about 280 million in North America. Still, of course, the purchase power in North America is way higher because of the economic situation. But I think everybody realizes that Europe and North America are getting to a saturation point, so where is the new market to expand? There are many limitations in Asia, so it’s kind of an obvious choice.
Elaborating on the second element, Steinberg said that he felt, “studios and publishers are finally realizing that we’re aWestern culturein a lot of ways. Even though we are not classified as that, we are mostly Western, but with a different taste, a different look at things, which is essential for the creation of new games that will enchant audiences.”
He pointed out that, on top of all the ripe potential for creativity in the area, Latin America is situated conveniently between European and American time zones, and has a favorable exchange rate. Steinberg also noted that, “People here really,reallywant to make it. The show is only this big because the professionals here are also huge. For instance, at theID@Xboxbooth, there are, I believe, two or three games that were picked here last year. So it’s happening and has been for some time, and it will happen more and more.”
Gamescom LATAM Offers Local Developers and Global Publishers and Investors the Perfect Way to Connect
Withcompanies like Steam, Bethesda, Nintendo, and many other recognizable ones all showing up at Gamescom LATAM, there are plenty of good opportunities for regional developers to connect with them. Steinberg explained:
We don’t really have big publishers here, so that’s why I think it’s a win-win situation where publishers can profit from the talent that we have, and the talent can profit from partnerships with the publishers and investors from elsewhere. What I usually tell professionals and investors is, “If you don’t come, you’re wasting money.” It’s pretty simple.
Steinberg closed off by adding, “It’s important to say that if you think that you’re going to meet the kind of developers here that you meet elsewhere in the world, you’re wrong. They don’t go. It’s too expensive for them, and more and more foreigners are coming here. So if you haven’t, you should.” WithGamescom LATAM providing a space for fruitful partnershipsand business ventures to happen, the outlook is looking bright for the show and Latin America’s place in the wider gaming landscape.
