AppsFlyer expands analytics biz into $1.4B Latin American mobile gaming market

Latin America is one of the growing sectors of the gaming industry, and it will hit $4.1 billion this year (as market research firm Newzoo estimates). That’s up  20.1 percent year-over-year, and mobile gaming will account for $1.4 billion.

So it’s easy to see why a mobile analytics firm such as AppsFlyer is ready to open its first office south of the equator. The company, which says its platform measures over 200 billion mobile interactions, is settling into Buenos Aires in Argentina, giving it a foothold into this growing region with its 11th global outpost.

The company that helps others boost their business has a growth story of its own here. Its South American expansion comes on the heels of opening offices in London and Berlin in February. A company spokesperson sent over some stats showing AppsFlyer’s reach:

• Media spend measured: $4 billion annually
• Mobile events measured: Over 200 billion per month
• Integrated partners: 1,900 plus
• Global offices: 11
• Number of apps/clients: Over 10,000
• Number of installs: Over 1 billion a month
• Employees: 170
• Installed devices: Over 2B
• Number of SDK installs: Over 20B

Brazil, not Argentina, is the largest gaming market in Latin America. So it may appear odd to open up shop in Buenos Aires over Sao Paulo. AppsFlyer founder and CEO Oren Kaniel goes over the decision.

“We already have amazing team on the ground in Buenos Aires, which has a rapidly thriving mobile ecosystem and is becoming a major hub of innovation and tech investment. And with Brazil’s booming mobile market nearby, we’re strategically located to serve all of Latin America — with plans to open additional offices in Brazil in the near future,” he said.

VB Insight analyst Stewart Rogers notes that Argentina is growing when it comes to games, especially in the dev sector.

“While Brazil is important to the region, Argentina is home to over 50 studios with over $30 million in revenue, according to the Argentine Game Developers Association, who collectively employ more than 2,000 people. The country is a rising star in Latin America, aided by recent successes such as the Master of Orion reboot produced by NGD Studios,” VB Insight analyst Stewart Rogers said. “That being said, Brazilian gamers are still responsible for six times more weekly downloads on Steam than Argentinian users.”

AppsFlyer doesn’t localize mobile games — it just measures user data on them. But it does localize its platform for new markets, and it’s launching in Latin America in Spanish, with Portuguese soon to come.

“We’ve seen tremendous growth throughout Latin America for some time, and we’re committed to serving the region, Kaniel said. “Our main goal in establishing our first LATAM office is to more closely serve our growing client base in the region, and to connect with the increasing number of brands, agencies, marketers and developers in the region who are tapping into mobile to grow their businesses. As a company, we’ve always believed that you have to have feet on the ground in the markets you are serving, because each region is unique not only in the way they do business but in the subtleties and nuances of the mobile market.”