Antstream, the world’s leading retro gaming streaming service, is proud to announce the highly anticipated launch of its new service on Xbox consoles in Brazil. This marks a significant milestone for Brazilian gamers, offering an extensive library of retro titles on the Xbox platform for the first time.
Brazil has a unique history in video games. Due to import embargoes that lasted until the 1990s, it was almost impossible to get hold of official consoles and games. Even after these embargoes were lifted, high taxes on imported items classified as luxury products made hardware and software unaffordable for gaming enthusiasts. This led to a culture of smuggling hardware and software from other countries, pirating software, and cloning hardware.
When consoles eventually became more accessible in Brazil, prices remained high. As a result, some consoles, such as the Sega Mega Drive and PlayStation 2, rema ined popular for much longer than in other countries. Consequently, Brazilian gamers spent more time with the same generations of consoles, leading to a greater appreciation for a “retro” style of play than, for example, British gamers.
In recent years, Brazil has seen significant changes in the video game industry. Although video games remain more expensive in Brazil than in many other parts of the world, the country often ranks among the top 10 video game markets by revenue. In fact, a 2022 study found that gaming has reached 74% of the Brazilian population, with smartphones being the most popular gaming platform, closely followed by PCs and consoles.
The Brazilian gaming industry is also growing rapidly. Since the Covid pandemic, the number of game development studios in Brazil has more than doubled and now stands at over 1,000. The Brazilian gaming community focuses mainly on indie games and meets every year for the BIG (Big Independent Games) festival in São Paulo to celebrate creativity and innovation in the industry.
In addition, Brazil has a vibrant and unique gaming culture. Retro gaming events, cosplay conventions, and eSports tournaments are incredibly popular and reflect a deep and passionate engagement with gaming. The country has produced several top-notch eSports teams and players, particularly in games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive And League of Legendsand thus further consolidates its position in the global gaming landscape.
These developments reflect a dynamic and evolving video game industry in Brazil, balancing a rich history of improvisation with a future full of innovation and growth.
Brazilian gamers now have access to Antstream’s extensive catalog of over 1,300 retro games directly on their Xbox consoles. This includes beloved classics from the arcade era, iconic console titles, and hidden gems that have shaped gaming history. Antstream’s innovative platform allows Xbox gamers in Brazil to relive the nostalgia of iconic titles from decades past, all without downloads or emulators.
Antstream Arcade is the world’s largest official library of retro games to stream, with more than 1300 titles available to play on multiple devices including PC, mobile and now Xbox in Brazil. The vast and impressive catalog includes titles from the early systems like the Atari 2600 and Commodore 64, to arcade classics and games from SNES, Megadrive and PlayStation One, and even features newly developed arcade games. With local co-op, weekly tournaments, hundreds of challenges and a global leaderboard to climb, there are plenty of new ways to play classic games, and Antstream’s cloud system saves game progress instantly, allowing players to put games down and pick them up again at any time.
Antstream Arcade is available for Xbox consoles for £39.99 and gives the player unlimited access to over 1300 games and all tournaments, challenges and more for a year. For a limited time, players can also purchase the lifetime subscription for a one-off payment of £99.99.
