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Latin America’s Most Important Independent Video Game Festival Announces Full Program Guide and Virtual Panel Schedule for Upcoming Online Event, BIG Digital

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Epic Games, Facebook, Google, Microsoft (Xbox), Nintendo, Snapchat, Ubisoft, and Star-Studded Indies to Showcase Exclusive Content and Headline Complimentary Video Game Industry-Focused Panels and Workshops

SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL (June 10, 2020) — BIG Digital, the online version of Brazil’s Independent Games (BIG) Festival — Latin America’s premier video game industry conference — today unveiled the full Program Guide for the festival — making it available on the official BIG Digital website.

Industry professionals and fans alike are invited to watch the seminars presented by innovative independent game studios and industry giants, including Epic Games, Facebook, Google, Microsoft (Xbox), Nintendo, Snapchat, and Ubisoft. Sessions take place from June 24 to 25, 2020, and can be viewed free-of-charge on the official BIG Digital Website.

True to BIG Festival’s physical event, BIG Digital will host an incredible lineup of industry leaders who will give talks that discuss Brazil’s thriving video game industry and its connection to the international market. Among the many renowned speakers set to attend, BIG Digital’s special guests include:

  • Andromeda Sound’s Antonio Teoli, an award-winning composer whose credits include Nintendo, SEGA, Samsung, and many others;
  • ARVORE Immersive Experiences’ Ana Ribeiro, creator of the critically-acclaimed Pixel Ripped franchise;
  • Epic Games’ Unreal Evangelist Paulo Souza; and
  • Microsoft Studio’s Carla Rylance (nDreams, Imaginati Studios, and currently The Coalition);
  • Drussila Hollanda-Grönberg, game and project lead at Supercell, and founder of Hive Helsinki Code School;
  • Reginaldo Valadares, a pioneer in Brazil’s online multiplayer games industry, currently General Manager and Vice President of Product at Scopely.

A full list of special guest speakers can be found here: https://event.bigfestival.com.br/talks/7/speakers/.

In addition to the previously announced 2020 Brazilian Games Showcase, BIG Digital will include two days of diverse, industry-focused panels, including:

  • Welcoming Diverse Perspectives to Broaden Gaming Experiences:  Marcos Silva, founder and partner of Sue the Real — a game studio that focuses on Afro-Brazillian narratives —  discusses the dominance of the white male perspective in videogames and explores other narratives that seek to change this aspect of the industry.
  • Brazil — A New Look From Abroad: Andromeda Sound’s Antonio Teoli and Doppio Games’ Jefferson Valadares lead a panel of four globally recognized industry experts as they discuss the global perception of Brazil’s games industry.
  • The State of the “Indie-stry”: Panelists Yves Le Yaouanq (Ubisoft), Christopher Wulf (Those Awesome Guys), Paulo Luis dos Santos (Flux Games Studio), and Limpho Moeti (Nyamakop), discuss the independent games industry and how power has shifted from publishers to developers and what that means to independent studios.
  • MADE IN BRAZIL: The Talented Brazilian External Development (XD) Market: From art to sound to coding, Brazilian game companies are developing amazing components for AAA games. Kokku’s Thiago de Freitas introduces the work of internationally recognized teams whose excellence has contributed to some of the world’s most renowned games.
  • 4-Steps for Successful Due Diligence in the New Normal: The Coalition’s Carla Rylance, a member of the External Development Summit’s (XDS) advisory board, discusses frameworks to facilitate new work-from-home initiatives enacted by 94 percent of the industry during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The complete program for BIG Digital can be found here: https://event.bigfestival.com.br/talks/7.

With support from  Brazil Games Export Program, a partnership between the Brazilian Game Companies Association, ABRAGAMES, and the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil), BIG Digital carries the traditions of its massively successful physical counterpart as a fundamental business hub for video game professionals across the globe through its lectures, networking events, and digital face-to-face meetings. Those who register to attend will have the opportunity to get in direct contact with market giants such as Braavo Capital, Devolver Digital, Electronic Arts, Humble Bundle, Konami, Roblox, and Sony, with more to be announced closer to the date. Industry professionals who wish to attend can sign up at the official website, found here: https://event.bigfestival.com.br/accounts/new.

Follow BIG Digital on LinkedIn to receive the latest news directly, and keep up to date with BIG Digital 2020 by following them on TwitterFacebookInstagram, and subscribe to the BIG Festival YouTube channel.

About BIG Festival and BIG Digital

BIG Festival, which received more than 20,000 visitors last year, is the largest and most important game festival in Latin America. Since 2012, the event has become a central meeting point for studios to attend lectures and workshops, network, and meet with industry peers to learn more about the business of gaming. BIG has helped hundreds of innovative games from all over the world connect with an international audience. Networking opportunities held at the event generated more than 4,000 meetings between 630 game industry professionals from 34 countries.  BIG estimates that more than $63 million USD in games-related business will result over the next 12 months based on these connections.

The Games Industry and Brazil

Brazil is now the 13th largest video game market in the world and second in Latin America, only to Mexico. The $1.6 billion (USD) Brazilian games industry has nearly doubled in size since 2014, and the number of local gamers reached 75.7 million as of 2018, making Brazil the fourth-largest consumer market in the world. Half of both men and women in Brazil play mobile games, while roughly 40 percent of men and women play PC games, according to Newzoo. Purchase intent is healthy as well, as 83 percent of gamers in the region have made an in-game purchase within the past six months.

About Brazil Games

Brazil Games is the export program created by the Brazilian Independent Game Companies Association, ABRAGAMES, in partnership with Apex-Brasil, the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency. Our goal is to promote the Brazilian Indie Game industry internationally, developing new business opportunities for our companies. The Brazil Games Program also promotes Brazil as the hub for business in Latin America and invites buyers, investors, and publishers for BIG Festival, Brazil’s Independent Games Festival, the most important international indie games festival, and the hub for international business in Latin America.

About Apex-Brasil

The Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil) works to promote Brazilian products and services abroad and to attract foreign investment to strategic sectors of the Brazilian economy. The Agency’s efforts comprise trade and prospective missions, business rounds, support for the participation of Brazilian companies in major international trade fairs, the arrangement of technical visits of foreign buyers and opinion makers to learn about the Brazilian productive structure, and other select activities designed to strengthen the country’s branding abroad. Apex-Brasil also plays a leading role in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) to Brazil, by working to identify business opportunities, promoting strategic events, and providing support to foreign investors interested in allocating resources in Brazil.

Vic

Editor / Writer / Producer For Drop the Spotlight