It is protected to say the primary ever Gamescom Latam was a hit. Greater than 100,000 guests from over 70 international locations got here to the São Paulo Expo centre through the ultimate week of June to play all the things from locally-developed indie curios, to AAA blockbusters and first-party smash hits.
Video games got here from 124 exhibitors from 66 international locations, and the business’s presence included greater than 200 publishers and 700 studios. Not dangerous for an occasion constructed on the foundations of the BIG Pageant (Finest Worldwide Video games Pageant), which final year peaked at 50,000 attendees.
For Gamescom Latam CEO Gustavo Steinberg, indicators of the urge for food for this occasion have been clear from the beginning. He tells GamesIndustry.biz that the primary promotional batch of tickets bought out in simply 20 minutes – which caught the workforce abruptly.
“We did not know what to do,” he says as we catch up on the organisers sales space on the present flooring. “We did not even have all of the property prepared.”
Assured that the primary present could be a hit, the Gamescom Latam workforce went into this year’s occasion already gearing up for subsequent year – together with a change of venue.
“Subsequent year, we’re going to a much bigger house, which goes to be double the size of this one. It is referred to as the Anhembi Conference Heart, it is the oldest venue in São Paulo, nevertheless it was fully run down and now it has been renovated. It is model new, tremendous technological in phrases of venues, and no columns so it is very easy to construct the totally different cubicles in totally different shapes and all the things.”
Transferring to the Anehmbi will convey the ground house up from 25,000 sq. metres to 50,000, whereas Steinberg estimates “at the very least 150,000 attendees, possibly 200,000” – virtually definitely cementing Gamescom Latam’s place as “the largest video games occasion in the Americas.”
“From the perspective of the builders, becoming a member of forces with Gamescom was the plain selection as soon as it was a chance”
Gustavo Steinberg, Gamescom Latam
Actually, as we converse, the wall behind him is decked out with a preliminary floorplan, in addition to particulars of exhibition and sponsorship packages. Work on Gamescom Latam 2025 was properly underway earlier than 2024 even closed its doorways.
It raises a query that speaks to Gamescom’s world plans: why Latin America? Of all of the areas across the globe, why is the world’s greatest video video games present so decided to set up a foothold in on this continent?
“It is the upcoming area of the world. In the event you have been taking part in Threat…,” Steinberg laughs, earlier than including that he has some theories as to the geopolitical circumstances that make Gamescom Latam a super enterprise: “Jap Europe is fairly unstable for apparent causes. China is in a sort of cultural lockdown, all the things is fairly managed there and so they have their very own methods of enthusiastic about how the inhabitants ought to devour digital items.
“In order that leaves an enormous space on the map, which is Latin America, conveniently positioned in between Europe and the US. It has a Western tradition, regardless that it is not thought-about to be Western per se, and has a reference to numerous creativity, numerous good programmers, numerous good designers. So I believe it is one thing that is smart from a geopolitical perspective.
“After which there’s the precise proven fact that we now have greater than 1,000 studios in Brazil alone. So it is actually an upcoming and booming area.”
As introduced earlier this year, Gamescom Latam is the results of a merger between Gamescom and BIG Pageant, which had been working since 2012. Steinberg was instrumental in the organisation of that occasion, and says that, whereas BIG was steadily rising in each attendance and status, merging it with one other occasion helps to unlock one other degree of development.
“It is a shortcut for us as an occasion to get all of the credibility and the traction that Gamescom already has,” he explains. “It is also good for us in phrases of the networking prospects that we now have, and it is working as a result of we have simply crossed the barrier of 1,000 firms [attending].”
He continues: “All the pieces that I’ve executed in the previous 12 years, all the selections I made because the organiser of [BIG Festival], my predominant focus is to see it from the perspective of the builders. So from the perspective of the builders, becoming a member of forces with Gamescom was the plain selection as soon as it was a chance.”
It is not simply the attendance of extra firms, however the engagement between them. BIG Pageant 2023 was host to greater than 5,000 conferences via its personal matchmaking platform, whereas the primary Gamescom Latam hosted over 11,000.
There have been additionally extra influencers and content material creators hosted than ever earlier than, to the purpose the place the organisers launched a enterprise aspect for them. The B2B space of the present flooring was closed to publishers and builders after the third day, opening it up to content material creators and their companies for the ultimate two, the place they might community with exhibitors and different attending firms.
Crucially, BIG Pageant has not disappeared. Actually, it shaped the literal coronary heart of the present flooring with a considerable space of cubicles exhibiting off a variety of indie video games, and even third-party hits for Xbox and PlayStation. Steinberg observes this stems from his expertise in the movie business, the place he says “the significance of festivals can’t be neglected.”
“We’re not a regional occasion, we’re a worldwide occasion that occurs to be in the area. That is a unique factor”
“[BIG] was increasing to embrace all the things, and now it is again to [its roots] being a pageant with the award ceremony and all the things,” he says. “So this really made BIG Pageant stronger as a result of it’s already the platform for new releases from the area, and we get video games from all around the world. Even there, we elevated in numbers. Final year we had virtually 700 submissions from 50 international locations. And this year we had 920 submissions from 70 international locations. So it is a win-win.”
Whereas the principle Gamescom in Cologne and the Singapore-based Gamescom Asia are organised by the previous’s mum or dad firm and venue Koelnmesse, Gamescom Latam is collectively organised by BIG Pageant, Brazilian occasions agency Omelete Firm, and Koelnmesse. However all efforts have been made to guarantee the brand new present appears like a sister occasion to the opposite two.
“It is going to take a while for us to combine 100% with Koelnmesse,” Steinberg explains. “However the thought is to behave increasingly more as a worldwide occasion. We’re already doing that. As an example, our Countdown present was streamed in Germany and in Singapore on the similar time.”
Very like Cologne’s Opening Evening Stay, Gamescom Latam’s Countdown introduced an array of trailers, updates and bulletins the evening earlier than the present was opened up to customers. Steinberg tells us this was very a lot a part of a press release the organisers are attempting to make.
“We’re saying we’re not a regional occasion, we’re a worldwide occasion that occurs to be in the area. That is a unique factor. Once they have been pitching their trailers, publishers have been asking, ‘Ought to we ship the trailer in Portuguese?’ I might say, ‘No, ship them in English with subtitles.’ We have been streaming in Portuguese, English, and Spanish.
“And even Geoff [Keighley, host of Opening Night Live in Cologne] despatched us a message, ‘Oh, be sure to point out us as the following Gamescom occasion.’ So Thiago [de Freitas, CEO of Brazilian studio Kokku] talked about Opening Evening Stay as the following cease.
“And naturally, I requested [Geoff] ‘Effectively, be sure to point out us too’.”