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Side Quest 2026: ASCJogos and Brazil Games connect Santa Catarina studios with international investors

Originally published at estado.sc.gov.br by Leonardo Ferreira Barbosa, Santa Catarina State Department of Science, Technology and Innovation. Adapted and republished by ASCJogos with additional context on the participation of Santa Catarina studios.


Quick context for international readers: Santa Catarina is a state in southern Brazil, with Florianópolis as its capital. ASCJogos is the official game industry association of the state. Brazil's game industry has a national export program (Brazil Games) coordinated by Abragames and supported by ApexBrasil, and a growing set of state-level public policies, with Santa Catarina among the most advanced.


The week of gamescom latam 2026 left a historic mark on Santa Catarina's game studios. The matchmaking program led by Brazil Games and Abragames opened the door to dozens of business meetings between our member studios and international publishers, platforms, and investors. And the cycle did not end at Anhembi: in the two days that followed, seven of those international guests flew to Florianópolis for the 2nd edition of Side Quest, organized by ASCJogos and Brazil Games.


Two days of immersion, May 4 and 5, brought 21 Santa Catarina game companies together with seven of the most relevant names in the global market. The event was promoted by ASCJogos and Brazil Games (the export program led by Abragames in partnership with ApexBrasil, Brazil's federal trade and investment promotion agency), with support from SCTI (Santa Catarina's State Department of Science, Technology and Innovation), Sebrae/SC (the SC chapter of Brazil's small business agency), Sapiens Park, Abragames, and Impact Hub Florianópolis. More than an industry meetup, Side Quest is part of an internationalization strategy that brings the Santa Catarina ecosystem closer to global investors.


➔ The strength of matchmaking during gamescom latam

Before describing what happened in Florianópolis, it is worth recapping the previous week. gamescom latam 2026, held April 30 through May 3 at the Anhembi District in São Paulo, featured a robust matchmaking program that turned out to be a watershed moment for our member studios.

An important clarification: this matchmaking program is an initiative of Brazil Games and Abragames, in partnership with the gamescom latam organization. There is a common confusion that the matchmaking belongs to gamescom itself, but the work of connecting publishers, platforms, and international investors with Brazilian studios is the result of more than a decade of institutional work by Brazil's national export program for games. The distinction matters because it credits those who have been building these bridges for years.


The result for Santa Catarina studios was significant. Dozens of meetings were scheduled, hundreds of minutes of pitches were delivered, conversations were started that opened pathways to future partnerships. Side Quest was created in 2025 precisely to take advantage of that moment and extend the conversations in a more intimate environment, on home turf, with time to build real relationships.


➔ Side Quest: two days to build relationships

Unlike events with packed agendas and crowded booths, Side Quest is designed for the opposite: few guests, long conversations, shared meals, and time to show what Florianópolis and Santa Catarina look like beyond a slide deck.


The seven international guests:


The curation reflects the diversity of what our member studios need to access: PC and console publishers, web platforms, monetization and infrastructure specialists, and strategic consultancies for studios at the internationalization stage. Each conversation opened a different track for the 21 Santa Catarina companies present.


➔ Day 1: presentations at Acate Downtown and speed meeting rounds

Monday started at Acate Downtown in Florianópolis. Bruno Rodrigues, from Sebrae/SC, opened the day with an overview of the Santa Catarina innovation ecosystem and the programs available to companies in the sector. ASCJogos followed with a presentation on the state's industry collective, our 20+ member studios, their portfolios, and capabilities.

The seven international guests then took the stage to share what they are looking for, which segments they operate in, and what kind of project would make sense for their companies. That panel set up the afternoon, dedicated to 7-minute speed meeting rounds between every Santa Catarina company and every guest.

In just over three hours, dozens of meetings happened. The compact format forces focus: each studio has to be clear on what it offers, what it is looking for, and why that specific conversation is relevant. It is a hard pitch exercise that benefits the commercial maturity of the entire local industry.


➔ Day 2: government, ecosystem, and the closing at Sapiens Park

Tuesday took place at Sapiens Park, a hub that reflects Santa Catarina's investment in the innovation economy. Heleno Martins Junior, coordinator of the SC Games program at SCTI, opened the day with a presentation on Santa Catarina's public policies for the sector. Nicola Martins (SCTI's deputy secretary) and Fernando Bez (Sapiens Park's director) followed with the institutional context and the assets the state offers to incoming companies.

“The event reinforces a movement already underway: Santa Catarina is consolidating itself as a fertile environment for the development of the games industry, with structured policies, talent training, and incentives for innovation through the SC Games program. We are creating the conditions for Santa Catarina not just to participate, but to lead this movement.” — Heleno Martins Junior, coordinator of the SC Games program / SCTI

For Kris Roberts, from Nordicity, the state has the right ingredients.

“Santa Catarina has many talented developers, an excellent environment, and a government that is quite engaged in developing the sector. These are fundamental ingredients for success. With the right support and guidance, the industry has a real opportunity to stand out on the global stage.” — Kris Roberts, CEO of Nordicity

Lunch was on the beachfront, a deliberate choice to show Florianópolis off the slides. The landscape itself is an internationalization argument. It is no accident that the state has been attracting tech professionals and companies from across Brazil and abroad.

In the afternoon, Kris Roberts and Matthes Lindner delivered strategic talks on international trends and internationalization models. To close, three ASCJogos members took the stage: Leonardo Cunha (2 Wedges), Lucas Silva, and ASCJogos president Leonardo Bilck (Plot Kids / Truth and Tales). The talks showed, in first person, what Santa Catarina studios are doing with their original IPs and as service providers for international clients.


➔ The weight of the global games market

To understand why this work matters so much, the size of the market speaks for itself. The global games industry currently moves between US$ 180 and 200 billion per year, a figure that comfortably exceeds the film and music industries combined. The number of players globally already passes 3 billion people, with mobile games accounting for around half of total revenue. Projections suggest the market may exceed US$ 250 billion by the end of the decade.

Santa Catarina is currently the second-ranked Brazilian state in game industry development, behind only São Paulo, according to the Stun Game Index 2025. Eight Santa Catarina cities are among the country's top 100 most relevant in the segment: Florianópolis, Joinville, Blumenau, Chapecó, Criciúma, Itajaí, São José, and Balneário Camboriú. Florianópolis ranks third nationally and leads in performance per capita.

This performance is sustained by public policies focused on innovation and the creative economy, with particular emphasis on the SC Games program and the Start SC Games funding round (a joint initiative of Fapesc and SCTI). The framework was further strengthened by the signing of State Law nº 19.789/2026, which made the SC Games program a permanent state public policy. This is one of the first state-level game development programs in Brazil to be formalized into permanent law.


➔ Cooperativism: the Santa Catarina way

Events like Side Quest only happen because a wide group of people and institutions align around a shared goal. We want to thank by name those who made this edition possible:

  • Luiza Guerreiro (Abragames), for the national articulation work and the constant presence alongside Santa Catarina studios

  • Patrícia Sato (Brazil Games), for the work that opens the path for the internationalization of Brazilian game companies

  • Heleno Martins Junior (SCTI / SC Games), for the continuity of a Santa Catarina public policy that is already a national reference

  • Bruno Rodrigues (Sebrae/SC), for the systematic support to game companies in the state

  • Professor Márcia Battistella (SC Games), for the work training new talent that sustains the foundation of our ecosystem


And to the seven international guests who accepted the invitation and dedicated two full days to seeing the Santa Catarina industry up close: thank you.

All of this reinforces a trait that is part of Santa Catarina's identity and of how ASCJogos operates: cooperativism. It is no coincidence that the state hosts some of the largest agricultural, credit, and healthcare cooperatives in Brazil. The same logic permeates our association and the way we build our local industry. Grow together, compete globally is not a slogan; it is the way we work.

The 2nd edition of Side Quest closed with 21 Santa Catarina companies more connected to the international market, seven heavyweight guests leaving with a concrete understanding of what we produce here, and the clear sense that the games industry in Santa Catarina is no longer a promise. It is a working reality. See you at the next Side Quest.


➔ References

Original news source and official references:


Partner programs and institutions:

Indices and reports:


About ASCJogos

ASCJogos (Associação Catarinense de Desenvolvimento de Jogos / Santa Catarina Game Developers Association) is the official game industry association for the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Founded in 2022 and formally incorporated in 2025, it represents over 20 member studios and approximately 500 developers. Our mission: grow together, compete globally. ascjogos.org.br


Tags: Side Quest, ASCJogos, Brazil Games, Abragames, gamescom latam, indie games, Brazilian games, SC Games, Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, international investors, ApexBrasil


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