According to the global Mobile App Growth report carried out by Adjust in collaboration with Facebook, Argentina leads the market for video game apps.
Two other Latin American countries also appear in the top 5. Vietnam, Brazil, China, and Mexico occupy the next positions in the ranking.
This success is more significant when we consider that video games now represent the largest market in mobile applications. And not only that: according to data from the Inter-American Development Bank, the video game industry represents the fastest growing sector in the orange economy.
“Video game sales grew 56% from 2013 to 2018”
Source: Newzoo Global Games Market Report 2018
Video games: A booming market in LatAm
With a growth of 56% in five years to 2018, the video game market promises to be worth about $137 billion, which would triple the projected earnings for the film industry. By 2017, video games had already overtaken the music industry and their average annual growth was twice that of the automotive industry.
The video game industry is divided between consoles, computers, and phones. Video games for apps are the ones that are growing the fastest, at a rate of 25% to 30% a year.
This spectacular growth is excellent news for Latin America and the Caribbean. There are 397 million gamers throughout the region. 80% of them are concentrated in five markets: Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, and Venezuela. The growth of the region is comparable to that of data processing services in the United States.
Argentina, the leading country in the Latin American video game industry
Of all the Latin American countries, Argentina is the best positioned. There are 120 video game development studios in this country. 83% of these companies export their services. In addition to independent studios, large companies have begun to open offices in the country.
Even other Latin American companies are beginning to choose Argentina to open operations. The Brazilian video game unicorn, Wildlife, opened offices in this country in 2020. Wildlife Vice President Dario Simonassi stressed that the country has a long career in technological development and that senior developers can easily be found there that are in short supply elsewhere.
In short, for Latin America, this industry is already more than a game.