São Paulo, April 22, 2026 – What if, for many young people, a game could change the course of their future? In many underserved communities across Brazil, talent and opportunity still rarely meet, not due to a lack of skill, but due to a lack of access. It was from this perspective that Artplan – one of the largest independent agencies in Brazil, with 100% national capital, in partnership with AfroReggae – a renowned Brazilian non-governmental organization that works to drive social transformation among young people from favelas and underserved communities through art, culture, social technology, and education, and with support from Garena – a global developer and publisher of online games, created “Freedom Recruitment,” an initiative that transforms a Free Fire tournament into a talent identification platform.
This movement stems from a direct observation: individuals exposed to violence and raised in environments where aiming skills are part of daily life tend to stand out in shooter games, where precision and reflexes are key. The difference lies in how this potential is recognized and applied.
The initiative emerges in a context of rapid growth in gaming across the country. According to the 12th edition of Pesquisa Game Brasil (PGB 2025), 82.8% of Brazilians consume digital games, the highest rate ever recorded by the study. In this scenario, where the dream of becoming a football player is increasingly being replaced by aspirations in gaming, the project proposes a new perspective on how to identify and develop talent.
The dynamic worked as a new kind of “tryout,” bringing together young players from different communities in matches held on restricted servers. More than the final result, the focus was on identifying players with above-average shooting skills, a direct indicator of aim control and precision.
At the core of the initiative, a hybrid talent identification system combined technology with human insight. During the matches, an NFA dashboard powered by Garena data analyzed, in real time, performance indicators linked to combat efficiency. At the same time, scouts and pro players monitored the matches to identify individuals with consistency and strong performance in direct confrontation scenarios.
Throughout the process, young players with outstanding performance were identified through this mapping and began to be supported by AfroReggae, through AfroGames. The initiative provides training, mentorship, and ongoing support, including financial assistance, enabling participants to build a career path within the gaming ecosystem and access new future opportunities.
“For decades, the recruitment of young people in underserved communities has been associated with crime. Now, an initiative proposes a new kind of recruitment – into the digital economy through gaming, expanding possibilities for people in these communities,” says Danilo Costa, Executive Director of AfroReggae.
“We wanted to look at gaming as a new access pathway, identifying existing talent and creating a new possible route. When you create the right context, this talent stops being invisible and starts transforming its own trajectory, which was previously on the margins of opportunity,” says Rodrigo Almeida (Monte), CCO at Artplan.
As a result, the initiative uncovered talent that had previously gone unnoticed and expanded access for young people from underserved communities to a growing market, reinforcing the role of gaming as a tool for inclusion and social transformation. More than rewarding winners, the project proposes a new recruitment model: identifying potential and turning it into real opportunity. In a landscape where mobile gaming is becoming the main gateway to e-sports in Brazil, the initiative points to new paths for an entire generation.
