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2022 TOP 5 VIDEO GAME SCHOOLs & Studios IN LATIN AMERICA
2022 TOP 5 VIDEO GAME SCHOOLs & Studios IN LATIN AMERICA
TOP 5 LATIN AMERICA video GAME SCHOOLS
TOP 5 LATIN AMERICA video GAME SCHOOLS
schools with the best job placements in the video game industry since 2010
schools with the best job placements in the video game industry since 2010
latin america, a video game industry with big potential
latin america, a video game industry with big potential
The revenue generated by video games in Latin America in 2019 was less than 4% of the global revenue. LatAm has a strong domestic demand in video games but it is globally satisfied by foreign productions. The region does not produce a large number of successful games due to a lack of trained professionals, investment and advertising. The weakness of the Internet network also prevents from taking full advantage of the growing development of online games.
However, the region has a strong potential in the field for several reasons:
a young and large population,
a high number of gamers,
a rapidly growing number of smartphone owners, hence a large number of potential mobile players from which the economy of these countries should be able to bring an offer of mobile games,
a large number of engineers who could easily specialize in game programming,
the actions taken since 2004 by national game industries to help them gain more weight on the world stage, like in 2015, with the creation of the Latam Video Games Federation to foster cooperation and synergies to compete internationally.
In 2020, the countries that generated the largest revenues in video games were Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia. And since 2016, Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay and Peru have seen their income from this industry increase significantly.
Among the indicators that give hope for a significant development of the sector, there is the fact that in 2015 Mexico was in the top 10 worldwide for the number of its engineering graduates which makes it a country particularly well disposed to evolve towards game programming.
In 2018, Brazil did even better and entered the world's top 10 for the number of its STEM graduates (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), on a par with the United States.
In Latin America, where the market is large but mainly an importer, the role of schools that train for video games production is thus significant in providing national studios with enough professionals to increase their market share and develop their exports in this industry.
TOP 5 latin america VIDEO GAME STUDIOS
TOP 5 latin america VIDEO GAME STUDIOS
studios that have recruited the most graduates since 2017
studios that have recruited the most graduates since 2017
Strong growth in the video game studio sector
Strong growth in the video game studio sector
Wildlife, a success story
Wildlife, a success story
Wildlife, a solid studio of more than 790 people founded in 2011, is at the top of our list as the leading studio for recruiting young talent.
Wildlife is a success story on account of its size and its commercial success of mobile platforms, such as Bike Race and 3D Sniper. All achieved in barely 10 years of existence.
The CEO of the studio, Victor Lazarte, is a young entrepreneur who incarnates a perfect likeness of what video games are... universal.
He has traveled the world to obtain a double degree from the prestigious École Centrale de Paris in France and the Harvard School of Business in the United States.
His brother and co-founder, Arthur Lazarte, CPO of the studio, is also a very successful student. He graduated from the prestigious McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and the Supaero Engineering School in Paris, France.
In 2020, Wildlife is valued at $3 billion.
☆ game schools top 5 latin america ☆
☆ game schools top 5 latin america ☆
#1 Tecnológico de Monterrey
#1 Tecnológico de Monterrey
Monterrey, Nuevo León, México
Monterrey, Nuevo León, México
91,200 total students
Private
Tuition & fees (local/int’l): US$ 10,000-12,500
ACADEMICS:
Profesional
Licenciado en Arte Digital (LAD)
Licenciado en Tecnología y Producción Musical (LTM)
Ingeniero en Tecnologías Computacionales (ITC)
Prostgrados
Maestría en Ciencias de la Computación (MCC)
STUDENT PROFILES:
70% of the alumni who have entered the video game industry since 2010 hold a Licenciado en Arte Digital. This two-year course is the school's flagship program for entering the industry. Those with an engineering background represent 8%.
43% of Monterrey's graduates also have a degree from another school and 1/3 of these schools are foreign (22% in Canada, 8% in the United States, 3% in Europe). Thus,
19% of all alumni who have entered the gaming industry have received a short training at the Vancouver Film School (BC), a school which Monterrey has a partnership with since 2012.
5% also attended the Coco School in Mexico (University of Design and Digital Art).
The Lullaby of Life (2017), marketed on Apple Arcade by alumni.
GAMES CREATED WITH ALUMNI PARTICIPATION:
The Lullaby of Life (2017), a beautiful adventure game, with elaborate gameplay created by the collaboration of two alumni and five students in the studio 1 Simple Game, Mexico. Its acidulous colors and soft shapes close to the world of 5-9 year olds evoke the graphics of casual games, but the game mechanics are rich and bring it closer to puzzle games. It was presented at the Showroom de Videojuegos Mexicanos Independientes of the Pixelatl 2017 festival in Mexico City.
Mulaka (2017), an adventure game inspired by the Tarahumara indigenous culture of Chihuahua, designed by Lienzo, a studio created by four Tec de Monterrey alumni at the school's Parque Tecnológico Orión. Graphics are beautiful, rich and colorful in this open world game with classic gameplay. Winner of the Concurso Nacional de Videojuegos MX 2017.
RECRUITMENT:
The leading video game employers of Tec de Monterrey alumni recruited in 2010-2020 are:
CGBOT (Mexico)
Cosmogonia (Mexico)
Gameloft (Mexico),
Ubisoft (Canada)
Electronic Arts (Canada)
TokyoPlay (Mexico)
1 Simple Game (Mexico)
The leading video game employer of Tec de Monterrey alumni recruited in 2010-2020 is CGBOT (Mexico) (19% of the alumni), followed by Cosmogonia (Mexico) (4%), Gameloft (Mexico), Ubisoft (Canada) (3%) and Electronic Arts (Canada) (3%), TokyoPlay (Mexico) (2%), and 1 Simple Game (Mexico) (2%).
Among these major employers, more than 2/3 of the profiles are artistic.
More broadly, among 81 employers since 2010, 50% of the alumni hold artistic positions (mainly game artists) and 25% technical positions (mainly programmers). Game designers represent 13%.
28% found a position abroad, including 16% in Canada, 6% in the United States and 5% in Europe.
Only 2% are freelancers, the lowest rate in this ranking. Tec de Monterrey alumni are then less likely to have to start their own business than the alumni of other Latin American schools.
Mulaka (2017)
#2 UAM - Universidade Anhembi Morumbi
#2 UAM - Universidade Anhembi Morumbi
São Paulo, Brazil
São Paulo, Brazil
70,100 total students
Private
ACADEMICS:
Graduação
Anhembi Jogos Digitais (online, Tecnologia, 5 semesters, R$165/mês)
Design de Games (online, Design, 8 semesters, R$265/mês / face-to-face R$2,258)
Ciência da Computação (online, 8 semesters, R$198/mês)
Produção Fonográfica - Produção Musical (face-to-face, 4 semesters, R$1,298)
Engenharia da Computação (10 semesters, R$1,308)
Pós Graduação
Desenvolvimento de Games (online, 2 semesters, R$159/mês)
Jogos Digitais (online, 2 semesters, R$159/mês)
STUDENT PROFILES:
Of the Universidade Anhembi Morumbi alumni who have entered the video game industry since 2010, more than 90% have completed the four-year Games Design program, which is proving to be the flagship program in the field.
60% have a single graduate degree, 29% also have another degree at the same level, and 11% have a postgraduate degree.
GAME PROTOTYPES:
Spaceline Crew (2019)
Spaceline Crew (2019). Cooperative party game derived from a graduation work by seven alumni including the founders of the Coffeenauts studio created in 2018.
It has an enticing trailer, humoristic scenes and varied situations. The four players must create a space line, purchase ships and fly them into dangerous space, manage system malfunctions and mentor alien passengers in a weightless environment. It was honored with the Most promising IP and Best casual game award at Game Connection America 2019 in San Francisco and the Audience Award at BIG 2019.
RECRUITMENT:
The main companies who have hired UAM graduates since 2010 are:
Tapps Games, Brazil
Kinship Entertainment, Brazil
INSANE, Brazil
Mad Mimic Interactive, Brazil
Flux Games, Brazil
Wildlife Studios, Brazil
The six most important studios recruiting Universidade Anhembi Morumbi alumni since 2010 are all Brazilian and employ more than 20% of them. The profiles met here are artistic at 37% (all game artists) and technical at 29%. Game designers represent 26%, and producers 8%.
From the 132 studios that recruited UAM alumni during the same period of time, the positions show a good balance between artistic (32%), technical (27%) and conception (27%) positions. The university also prepares the largest share of producers (12%). However, only 2% are engineers.
10% of these alumni work as freelancers.
Aurora: A Child's Journey (2020)
Aurora: A Child’s Journey (2020), a exploration game made by six 6th semester students (Luski Game Studio) about the impacts of an environmental disaster through the eyes of a child. Aurora goes on an adventure to find out what is causing so much destruction and how to solve this problem, mixing reality with her imagination.
The project received the Fair Trade Award at the G4C Festival, Games for Change Latin America 2020 and will represent Brazil at the Games for Change (G4C), in New York in June 2021.
#3 PUC Minas - Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais
#3 PUC Minas - Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais
Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
73,945 total students
Private University
Three campuses to study video games:
São Gabriel (BH, Belo Horizonte), since 2006
Praça da Liberdade (BH, Belo Horizonte)
PUC Minas Virtual
ACADEMICS:
Graduação
Bacharel em Jogos Digitais (3 years)
Pós Graduação em 3D Game Art e Design
Mestrado em Ciências da Computação, Programação de Jogos Digitais
STUDENT PROFILES:
Of the alumni who have entered the video game industry since 2010; 97% have a bachelor's degree from PUC, 82% of which are directly related to video games and 2% to Ciências da Computação; 10% have a master's degree in Game Art and Design or Ciências da Computação from PUC. 57% have a Bachelor's degree from PUC as their only degree.
GAME PROTOTYPES:
Promage (2020)
Promage (2020). An urban combat game created in SIX months by 6th period students of the Digital Games course of the São Gabriel campus. In this Third Person Shooter game, the player combines spells to create new combos and destroy monsters. There is good graphics, especially the light effects, and obviously a huge amount of work has gone into the design of the 14 characters.
Pandora (2020)
Pandora (2020). A 3D platform game of medieval combat in a world of floating islands inspired by the movie Avatar created by seven students in 6th period. It was presented at the PUC Minas Mostra Virtual de Jogos 2020/2.
RECRUITMENT:
The main companies who have hired PUC Minas graduates since 2010 are:
Gaz Games, Brazil
Wildlife Studios, Brazil
SeaStudios, Brazil
Tapps Games, Brazil
INSANE, Brazil
AQUIRIS, Brazil
The six main studios that have been recruiting PUC alumni since 2010 are all Brazilian and employ more than 26% of them. The profiles are very balanced between artistic and technical (31% each), game designers represent 4%, and producers 10%.
From the 57 studios that recruited PUC alumni during the same period of time, the positions are 44% artistic, 36% technical and 8% in conception. The percentage of producers is still high with 11%.
The proportion of those who work freelance is 18%.
Farm Your Friends (2020)
Farm Your Friends (2020). A competitive game produced by 6th period students from the Digital Games course of Praça da Liberdade campus. One of the few games that is not a first or third person shooter. In this multiplayer party game (up to 8 players), the goal is to become the best farmer by developing the activity while sabotaging the work of the neighbors. The players move quickly in a small space, creating constant interactions at a hectic pace making very entertaining short games.
#4 UVM - Universidad del Valle de México
#4 UVM - Universidad del Valle de México
Ciudad de México, México
Ciudad de México, México
105.000 total students on 34 campuses
Private
total cost for a Licenciatura online: MXN 165,960 Mexican pesos (US $8,026)
ACADEMICS:
Licenciatura Ingeniería en Animación e Interactividad (9 semesters)
Licenciatura en Diseño multimedia (4 years)
70% followed the program d’Ingeniería en Animación e Interactividad.
GAME PROTOTYPES:
Zombie Boom (2018)
Zombie Boom (2018). A usable game in 2D, 3D, AR and VR versions, made by two students in the Engineering and Technical artist sections (Nuvor Games team). It was honoured the best mobile game and was the winner of the Innovación Tecnológica at the Concurso Nacional de Videojuegos MX 2019 in the university category (from 264 student projects).
Pozol Ha! (2015)
Pozol Ha! (2015). A 2D platform game of adventure and obstacle courses with a pre-Columbian and culture of Chiapas theme ; the setting is inspired by the Maya city state of Palenque. The character is the last parachico, a traditional dancer of the Chiapa de Corzo festival dressed in a colorful sarape. He uses his 'chinchín' (maracas) against zombies and has to earn points by grabbing amber coins and pozol, the traditional local drink made of cocoa and corn.
The game, developed over two years by the García Aquino brothers (PitbullJackGames studio), came in first at the Concurso Nacional de Videojuegos MX 2015 in the Universitarios category. Immediately after its launch it became the most downloaded video game made in Chiapas with 50,000 downloads worldwide, 500 of them in the first three days.
RECRUITMENT:
The main companies who have hired UVM graduates since 2010 are:
CGBOT, Mexico
Hot Potato Apps, Mexico
These two main employers account for nearly one third of the UVM alumni recruited since 2010 in video game production, the majority of the positions held are for Game Designers.
From the 32 game studio recruiters of UVM alumni over the same period, the profiles are largely artistic (64%), including a record rate of Game Artists (59%). Next come technical profiles (22%), game designers (9%) and producers (5%).
Freelancers account for only 5%, the second lowest rate in this ranking. Few UVM alumni have to create their own business compared to other Latin American schools.
#5 SENA, Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje
#5 SENA, Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje
Bogotá, Colombia
Bogotá, Colombia
10 million total students
Public institution
Tuition & fees : Free
More than 267 training centers throughout Colombia, with more than 3,750 alliances signed with mayors, governments, companies and academic institutions.
ACADEMICS:
Titulación Tecnólogo en Desarrollo de Videojuegos (24 months, with internship)
Tecnologo en Animacion 3D (3 trimesters)
Certificación profesional en Diseño de Videojuegos en tercera persona con Unity
GAME PROTOTYPES:
Covid Attack (2020)
Covid Attack (2020), a 2D side-scrolling platformer made in two months by Daniel Alexander Jiménez.
Pwesa’n Piyaka (2015)
Pwesa’n Piyaka (2015), an educational game for learning the Páez language spoken by the Nasa indigenous people in the Colombian Andes.
RECRUITMENT:
Main companies who have hired SENA graduates since 2010:
Efecto Studios, Colombia
Dream House Studios SAS, Colombia
Indie level Studio, Colombia
Hadron Games, Colombia
Smartsoft Play, Colombia
Atomic Studio SAS, Colombia
These six significant studios that have been recruiting SENA alumni in the game industry since 2010 are all Colombian and employ nearly 20% of them. Two thirds of these profiles are technical and almost one third artistic. Game designers represent 4%, and producers 10%.
From the 70 studios that recruited the alumni during the same period of time, the situation is more balanced between technical (41%) and artistic (37%) positions. Jobs in conception are better represented with 14%, and the producers are 8%.
8% work freelance.
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