Brazil Games has recorded its best return on investment yet from a trade show, with the organization's executive operations manager Patrícia Sato confirming that this year's Gamescom LATAM delivered the strongest results for its member companies to date.

"I do have some indication already of the impact we had during Gamescom LATAM," Sato said. "This one had the best return of investment from our companies. It is a trend that has been happening with the trade shows we attend."

The milestone matters for studios weighing the cost of international presence. Brazil Games, the export program run in partnership with trade association Abragames and trade and investment promotion agency ApexBrasil, has built its strategy around bringing Brazilian developers face-to-face with international publishers, investors and media — in some cases covering flights and accommodation to get them in the room.

What did the export program deliver this year?

The numbers show a deliberate escalation of Brazil's international footprint:

• At Gamescom in Cologne, Brazil Games ran its usual B2B booth plus, for the first time, a dedicated Brazil Indie Pavilion inside the consumer expo, featuring 35 games.
• At Tokyo Game Show 2026, the organization mounted its largest-ever presence: 31 games companies, 12 playable titles, 21 studios and a 55-person delegation — its second consecutive year with official participation.
• Gamescom LATAM in São Paulo doubled as both a consumer showcase and a deal-making venue for local studios.

Sato is blunt about the value of physical events. "I have a very strong opinion about the whole 'are trade shows important or not'? I think they are," she said.

She pointed to a geographic quirk that shapes the strategy: because Brazil is so large, the international circuit is often the only practical place to meet Brazilian peers. "Sometimes, as Brazil is ginormous, most of our companies we can only meet at the international events. It's so funny that we have to get out of Brazil to talk to those guys that are also Brazilians," she said. "For us, it's very important to establish these connections."

Who is Brazil benchmarking against?

The program's leadership studies other export-driven hubs: Türkiye, China and Sweden, each built on different drivers. Türkiye's rise rests on government support, experienced founders spinning up new studios and growing funding — some of it domestic.

Brazil's own industry has carved out a niche in co-development and outsourcing in recent years, alongside its original IP output. "We feel like we are in a good place now and we can really proudly showcase the games we have, and also the services, of course," Sato said.

On the development side, the Brazil Games Accelerator has entered its first year with 40 studios selected to build their businesses.

What changes with the new legal framework?

A new legal framework for the games industry is now in place, but the mechanisms that would give it teeth — grants and tax relief — remain undefined. Abragames president Rodrigo Terra says the association has drawn inspiration from emerging markets like Türkiye and India, and also sees coalition-building opportunities further afield.

"We want to build the global South now, so we need to join forces to do that," Terra said, naming South Africa and New Zealand as potential partners — countries that may themselves look to Brazil's model.

Terra's timeline is specific: he hopes that by the end of 2027, 80% of the work to put full support mechanisms in place will be complete. "It takes time, I mean it's politics, it takes time. You need to be present, you need to be resilient and be there all the time," he said.

For studios and publishers tracking the market, the signal to watch is whether that 2027 target holds — and whether grants and tax relief start flowing before or after the next Gamescom LATAM cycle.