Across Latin America, developers are creating some of gaming’s most distinctive new worlds by turning personal memories, local history, cultural traditions, and bold ideas into experiences that resonate far beyond the region. Games such as Despelote, Mexico, 1921: A Deep Slumber, and SOPA – Tale of the Stolen Potato show the remarkable breadth of this creative community, from intimate coming-of-age stories and interactive journeys through history to magical adventures filled with heart.
For years, XBOX has worked alongside creators across Latin America, helping studios of all sizes bring their games to players around the world. Through the ID@XBOX Developer Acceleration Program (DAP), we’ve worked with more than 60 studios from Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Honduras, Uruguay, and beyond, helping developers bring over 30 culturally distinctive games to XBOX since 2023, while strengthening the region’s growing game development ecosystem by providing access to technical resources, business support, and mentorship.
XBOX Game Camp Heads to Mexico City
As XBOX continues to support game creators across Latin America, XBOX Game Camp is expanding its reach with a Mexico City debut on October 17 alongside Xbox FanFest. Taking place during Xbox’s 25th anniversary year, the event will celebrate Mexico’s game development community and the extraordinary talent already shaping games across the region, while creating new opportunities for developers to learn, connect, and grow.
XBOX Game Camp Mexico will bring together a select group of Mexican studios, including developers both within and beyond the existing XBOX ecosystem, for a day focused on industry knowledge, community, and connection. The program will feature advanced developer seminars, keynotes and fireside conversations with industry leaders, along with opportunities to connect directly with industry professionals and members of Team XBOX, including Jens Bergensten, Chief Creative Officer at Mojang Studios. His fireside conversation with Peter Zetterberg, Founder of XBOX Game Camp, will explore his career journey and lessons from Sweden’s game development ecosystem, with a focus on collaboration, supporting fellow creators, and the role community can play in building a stronger industry.
With a passionate development community and a strong culture of collaboration, Mexico City provides an ideal setting for XBOX Game Camp to celebrate locally developed games, strengthen connections across the ecosystem, and create new pathways for Mexican creators to bring their ideas to audiences around the world.
As we support the next generation of creators through initiatives like XBOX Game Camp, we’re also celebrating the developers shaping Latin America’s game development community today. Here’s a look at six upcoming games from Latin American creators to keep on your radar.
Six Upcoming Games from Latin America to Watch
Mariachi Legends — Halberd Studios, Mexico
Studio Contact: Miguel Hasson, Creative Director
Studio Name: Halberd Studios
Studio location: Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
Mariachi Legends is a brutal, combat-oriented Metroidvania wrapped in gorgeous pixel art and set in the heart of Mexico. Players step into the shoes of Pablo Cruz, a Mexican detective who strikes a deal with Death herself. Granted the ability to transform into the supernatural entity “La Sombra,” Pablo must battle an evil syndicate known as the Mariachi Legends. It’s a journey that blends intense hack-and-slash action with RPG mechanics, all unfolding around the Day of the Dead festivities.
What sets Mariachi Legends apart?
What truly separates Mariachi Legends is our deep, authentic integration of Mexican culture and folklore directly into the gameplay loop. Beyond standard combat and exploration we’ve also introduced a unique culinary mechanic: players explore the world to collect ingredients and cook traditional Mexican dishes to gain strength. Coupled with a Day/Night cycle driven by Sun and Moon gates, where different map sections are accessible depending on the time of day, the game offers a distinct flavor you won’t find in other Metroidvanias.
How has DAP supported development of your title?
ID@XBOX has been instrumental in helping us bring our vision to life without compromising on quality or cultural authenticity. The program provided us with the resources and technical support needed to ensure Mariachi Legends runs flawlessly on XBOX Series X|S, utilize features like XBOX Play Anywhere. The marketing amplification and the opportunity to bring the game to a massive audience via XBOX Game Pass has given our studio the runway to focus fully on creating a polished experience.
What do you hope players take away from your game?
We hope players walk away with a profound appreciation for the richness of Mexican traditions. We want them to experience the thrill of a tight, challenging Metroidvania, but more importantly, we want the world, the food, the music, and the folklore of Mexico to resonate with them long after they put the controller down.
Colorbound — Panpipe Studio, Chile
Studio Contact: Isaías Arrué, CEO
Studio Name: Panpipe Studio
Studio Location: Villa Alemana, Valparaíso, Chile
In Colorbound, color is more than just a hue. Join Anku on a heartwarming journey, using color to shape the world around you. In this puzzle-platforming adventure, you will solve challenging puzzles, uncover secrets, and help a family of musicians reunite, just like in the old days, for a farewell concert.
What sets Colorbound apart?
Colorbound stands out primarily for its aesthetics and core mechanics. The ability to change the colors of the environment creates an experience that draws attention through its very concept. Furthermore, the narrative, music, and art reflect the Andean culture of Latin America, successfully connecting with the region and showcasing a culture unknown to many.
How has DAP supported development of your title?
Primarily by providing some of the funding for the project’s production and post-production, which allowed for a faster development process and more comprehensive publishing work.
What do you hope players take away from your game?
On one hand, I hope that during the process you are surprised by the different mechanics associated with the colors and enjoy solving the game’s challenging puzzles. But above all, I hope you take away a fond memory of a simple, touching experience about friendship and grief.
Sky Dust — Orbit Studio, Brazil
Studio Contact: Valnei Costa, Co-founder, Orbit Studio
Studio Name: Orbit Studio
Studio Location: Brazil
Sky Dust is a single-player cyberpunk action-adventure with RPG elements, set in a dystopian future after the destruction of the Moon. Players take on the role of a mercenary exploring the streets of São Paulo and a digital realm known as the Cyberverse. The game combines precise combat, exploration, platforming, and hacking in a world shaped by lunar contamination and the struggle between humanity and technology.
What sets Sky Dust apart?
Sky Dust brings a Brazilian perspective to cyberpunk, reimagining São Paulo as a dystopian city shaped by its urban identity, contrasts, and culture. Its combat combines precise swordplay, well-timed parries, and customizable cybernetic arms with distinct abilities. Players can experiment with different combinations and adapt their approach to each encounter, balancing aggressive attacks with careful defence.
How has DAP supported development of your title?
The ID@XBOX Developer Acceleration Program has provided valuable financial support that allowed us to bring Sky Dust to XBOX and Windows. For an independent studio like ours, this support helps reduce the financial pressure of developing for additional platforms and allows us to dedicate more resources to delivering a polished experience. It also gives us greater confidence as we work toward sharing the game with a wider audience.
What do you hope players take away from your game?
We hope players leave Sky Dust feeling the satisfaction of mastering its combat and discovering the stories hidden throughout its world. We also want the game to spark reflection on what it means to remain human in a society where technology can reshape both the body and the mind. Above all, we hope its characters, atmosphere, and Brazilian perspective stay with players after their journey ends.
Treetopians — Aparato Games, Argentina
Studio Contact: Marina Illanes, Co-Founder & Producer
Studio Name: Aparato Games
Studio Location: La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Treetopians is a cozy colony simulator where players build vertical villages in the treetops and care for a growing community of villagers with unique needs and personalities. Players design and expand their settlements, manage resources, and help their community thrive as they explore new environments and discover new biomes.
What sets Treetopians apart?
Treetopians combine vertical city-building with colony management, allowing players to build and expand unique villages high up in the treetops. Its distinctive environments, creative building possibilities, and progression across different biomes offer a fresh take on the cozy city-builder genre.
How has DAP supported development of your title?
The ID@XBOX Developer Acceleration Program has provided valuable support for the development of Treetopians, helping our small indie team move the project forward, improve the game, and bring our vision to life. This support has been an important step toward making Treetopians available to XBOX players.
What do you hope players take away from your game?
We hope players find a relaxing and rewarding experience where they can unleash their creativity, build at their own pace, and enjoy watching their communities grow. Treetopians is about creating a place of your own, exploring new environments, and finding joy in the little things along the way.
GHOSTLESS — Coffeenauts, Brazil
Studio Contact: Fábio Rosa, Co-founder & Creative Director
Studio Name: Coffeenauts
Studio Location: São Paulo, Brazil
In an alternate 20th Century, a Cold War AI super-intelligence turned against humanity. Lead an uprising against AI in a post-apocalyptic world where you’re never sure who is human and who is machine. Scavenge for resources, find survivors to grow your base, root out android infiltrators and lead the resistance in a unique hybrid of 2.5D action-adventure and colony building.
A dark sci-fi journey about humanity, paranoia and survival, GHOSTLESS is atmospherically rendered in a style we’re calling ‘hi-fi pixel art’, a blend of retro pixel graphics and modern 3D lighting and visual effects.
What sets GHOSTLESS apart?
GHOSTLESS is a premium indie game with beautiful visuals, unique genre blend and a clear hook inspired by sci-fi classics like ‘The Terminator’ and ‘The Thing’: you must lead the uprising against the machines by becoming humanity’s “John Connor” figure while investigating disguised android infiltrators trying to sabotage your resistance.
How has DAP supported development of your title?
Coffeenauts only exists as a studio today because XBOX chose to give their vote of confidence and support development of our first game, a student project called Spacelines from the Far Out, which eventually became one of the first Brazilian games on Game Pass. XBOX gave a few students from Brazil an opportunity no one else would.
Now, showing ID@XBOX’s continued commitment to supporting gaming and diverse independent projects from all over the world, we’ve renewed this partnership by having our new title GHOSTLESS chosen as part of the Developer Acceleration Program, which gave us not only the means to kickstart development, marketing support, but also a key validation for the project’s potential from industry experts. We couldn’t be more excited to be launching on XBOX again!
What do you hope players take away from your game?
GHOSTLESS draws a picture of a 20th Century that could have been, inviting players to ask themselves: What sets humans apart from machines? Can machines ever replace humans? Should technological progress be pursued no matter the cost?
Greak 2: Alliance of the Storms — Navegante, Mexico
Studio Contact: Anahit Fernandez, Studio Manager and Producer
Studio Name: Navegante
Studio Location: Mexico
Greak 2: Alliance of the Storms is a hand-drawn co-operative Metroidvania adventure playable solo, or in localand online co-op, continuing the story of Greak: Memories of Azur. Venture into the unexplored lands of Synoraz, where Greak and Adara are split in parallel dimensions by the ruthless Ilikun. Harness their synergetic abilities, solve interconnected puzzles and join the mythical eagles in a race to save the last Storm Egg before an ancient species is lost forever.
What sets Greak 2 apart?
What sets Greak 2: Alliance of the Storms apart is the way it builds its entire adventure around two characters working together. Co-op Metroidvanias are still relatively uncommon and we wanted to explore what this genre could offer when cooperation is at the heart of the experience.
One of our main additions is the parallel dimensions mechanic. Greak and Adara exist in different dimensions, meaning they can only interact with the objects, enemies and paths in their own reality. This creates puzzles and challenges that require players to coordinate their actions and think about how their two worlds connect. Whether you play solo or with a friend, cooperation is essential to progressing through the game.
As an indie studio, we are also incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to return to the world of Greak and expand on it with a sequel. We built upon what we learned from our first game while continuing to embrace the artistic approach that defines our work: traditional frame by frame animation and hand painted backgrounds that bring the world of Synoraz to life!
How has DAP supported development of your title?
The ID@XBOX Developer Acceleration Program has been a great support for us as an indie studio. Through the program, we qualified for porting support, which is helping us bring Greak 2: Alliance of the Storms to XBOX players.
The program has also helped us better understand the XBOX ecosystem and the opportunities available to us as developers on the platform. Access to educational and marketing opportunities has supported both our first game, Greak: Memories of Azur and our upcoming sequel Greak 2: Alliance of the Storms.
What do you hope players take away from your game?
Our goal with Greak 2: Alliance of the Storms is to create a Metroidvania adventure that two players can enjoy together, regardless of their gaming experience or skill level. We want the game to be an accessible introduction to the Metroidvania, platforming and puzzle genres, while still offering an engaging adventure for experienced players.
When we presented our demo for the first time at gamescom, one of the most rewarding things was seeing parents play alongside their children and couples enjoy the adventure together. It reminded us that games can be a wonderful way to connect, share experiences and create lasting memories!
Beyond the gameplay, we have put a lot of care into the hand-drawn visuals and narrative to create a world that players can become immersed in. Through Greak and Adara’s journey, we hope to tell a compelling story that resonates with players and leaves them with a positive message about cooperation, helping one another and facing challenges together.
More Voices, More Worlds, More Games
Through the ID@XBOX Developer Acceleration Program and XBOX Game Camp, we’re proud to support creators across Latin America as they develop their craft, bring new ideas to life, and create experiences that speak to players around the world. Explore the games already available, add the upcoming releases to your wishlist, and keep an eye on the new voices shaping the future of game development across Latin America.
For more games from the ID@XBOX Developer Acceleration Program, check out our Emerging Creators collection. To learn more about the XBOX Game Camp, and its history, please visit Microsoft Game Dev Blog.
