Publisher and game developer Jagex has announced plans to expand its international reach outside the English speaking world by focusing on a host of emerging markets – starting with Brazil.
RuneScape, a popular free-to-play massively multiplayer online adventure game, has already been localized into French, German and Brazilian-Portuguese, but the game’s UK-based developer now plans to step-up their focus by aggressively marketing the game to the Brazilian gamers. RuneScape has recently reached 200 million accounts worldwide.
To kick start promotion of RuneScape in Brazil, Jagex have signed an exclusive co-marketing deal with UOL, internet service provider. UOL will be publishing the game on Jagex’s behalf. Brazilian players will have the same experience as those in the rest of the world but will benefit from local language support and community management provided by the team at UOL.
David Solari, Jagex CMO, commented, “International expansion has always been a key focus for Jagex and has largely been going on at a community level from the ground up without overt marketing. We are now in a position where we have an excellent offering, which we believe is perfect for the South American market. To ensure we capitalize on this opportunity, we have selected UOL as our primary partner to give the game the support it deserves.”
The opportunities for online games publishers in Brazil are staggering. According to a recent Newzoo report the Brazilian games market is growing at a frantic pace. With more than 35 million Brazilians categorizing themselves as active gamers, 47% of gamers regularly spending money on new games, and more than 85% of Brazilian gamers playing games online, there is a captive audience looking for new games. One of the most significant growth areas highlighted in the report is online adventure games, favored by 88% of Brazilian gamers. By expanding their footprint within the territory, Jagex hopes to capitalize on this and ensure that RuneScape is the game of choice throughout Brazil and the wider South American continent.
