Kiwi game now has 1m users in Brazil, 10m worldwide

Web-based sim game SmallWorlds launched in Brazil 14 weeks ago, and has already amassed more than a million users in the new territory.

SmallWorlds is a social, browser-based casual simulator, like an online version of The Sims, except the world is full of minigames and various entertainment services. While playing in this world, you can watch videos on YouTube or listen to music on SoundCloud.

The game, developed by Auckland-based company Outsmart, has been renamed for the Brazilian market so it is not called SmallWorlds, but MiniMundos.

The Brazil site, minimundos.com.br, has been growing at a rate of "up to 25,000 registrations per day", Outsmart said in a statement.

“We had done our homework and we knew that our product would be popular with Brazilians,” Outsmart's marketing manager Nicole Scheid said. “But the meteoric rise that we’ve experienced has surpassed all of our expectations.”

When we interviewed Outsmart's co-founder Mitch Olson in February, SmallWorlds had over 7 million users. Now, SmallWorlds and MiniMundoshave over 10 million users.

“We’ve known for a long time that we’ve been on to something special with SmallWorlds,” Mitch Olson said.

“Our product has a lot of advantages over the competition and we’ve continued to steadily win market share in the English-speaking markets. Going into Brazil with such a strong product, and the insight that we’ve gained over the years with SmallWorlds, has given us a natural springboard.”

While the focus for SmallWorlds has thus far been on the US and UK markets, after launching in Brazil Outsmart plans on localising and expanding into more international territories. Development is already underway for a Spanish version of SmallWorlds for the Latin American market, the company said.