Brazil is seen in eSports as a global power. In addition to protagonism in many games, with fans, good financial structure and sponsorships, companies look for national players to participate in their championships.
But it is difficult to reach the highest level. Many aspirants stop in lower categories amid challenges to structure a team, compete with better established ones, and reach good cash prizes.
Starting and consolidating a career in the area is costly economically. And there is a recurring view that games are leisure, that working in the area does not bring gains and stability.
The electronic sports market is strong in the country. According to data from the Game Brasil survey of 2024, made with 1,612 people across the country, 82% know eSports. Among them, 81% play, and 88% watch events in the category.
A series of events in the sector is held in Brazil, with game championships such as Free Fire and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds) – Battle or Battle Games against opponents and with large base in the country is available for mobile devices.
Outside the country, Brazilian players and teams shine. The most recent case was Six Invitational, Game Tom Clancy’s World Championship: Rainbow Six Siege, whose final took place on the 16th, in Boston, United States, and crowned the Brazilian doing as champion.
Faze, created in 2010, has arms in Brazil and the United States and is today consolidated in the game market. In 2021, it became a publicly traded organization, valued at the time at US $ 725 million (US $ 825 million in updated inflation values, about R $ 4 billion).
Brazil had 5 of the 20 teams in Six Invitational. In addition to doing, they reached the most advanced phases of the fury and rookie Razah Company.
Six Invitational itself was already held in Brazil, in 2024, in São Paulo, attracting a total of 30,000 people in three days of dispute at the Ibirapuera Gymnasium. On the internet, there were more than 35 million views.
Getting to tournaments of this size, however, is not an easy task. The first challenge quoted by the players involves the family, which does not always observe the importance and reach of games.
The sponsorships have also been scarce. Players contracts often do not constitute employment bonds, which often generates legal disputes.
There was a boom of the modalities before the COVID-19 pandemic. After economic reopening, the movement of the financing companies was to migrate their investments in advertising to safer options, such as traditional sport.
Guilherme Bassetto of Razah Company said that his team was formed in a short time and that his participation in the tournament finals was an exception. He also reported bureaucratic difficulties, such as obtaining the American visa for all players.
“As we have no contract, there is no consolidated organization. It can happen to keep ourselves or each go to one side. Or two go to one side, and three, to the other,” said Bassetto.
“Whether or not, many older people have a little prejudice, they don’t even know and, if they hear, they don’t want to argue. I think over time everything gets better, people will see that it’s a serious business, just tends to improve,” he added.
According to Leandro Montoya, director of eSports for Latin America at Ubisoft – Rainbow Six Siege and creator of titles such as Assassin’s Creed and Just Dance – market maturation is accompanied by professionalization of tournaments. For him, the focus now should be to foster grassroots competitions, making the way for a career clearer.
The public power is also not always understood with representatives of the sector. Former Sports Minister Ana Moser even said at the beginning of Lula’s mandate (PT) that the sport is not and cannot be treated as a sport and denied investments from the federal government for initiatives in the area.
“In my view, electronic sport is an entertainment industry, it’s not a sport. So you have fun playing video games, you had fun. ‘Ah, but people train to do.’ Train, like the artist, “Moser said at the time.
Montoya admits important differences between traditional and electronic sports, such as those who define the rules – in physical modalities, for example, are international associations that delimit what can or can not be done, while in electronics are companies. But it understands that both formats are the result of cultural manifestations with broad social interaction.
According to him, eSports need to receive more specific attention from the government.
“Electronic sport could receive benefits from federal entities. If we classify electronic sports such as sports, incentives or tax benefits that would go to sports can also be dedicated to eSport. On the other hand, if we enter entertainment, this is approaching culture, then we will be associated with the secretariats of culture and culture benefits.
