Redcatpig was officially founded in 2019 in the Azores by Marco Bettencourt (CEO), João Toste (Art Director) and Bryan Freitas (Technical Director). Created on Terceira Island, the company now positions itself as a video game development studio operating across three distinct fronts: creation of proprietary titles, co‑development with major international studios, and the provision of gamification services and technological solutions for institutional clients.
Based in the Azores, with a presence also in Madeira and an office in Lisbon currently being relocated to new facilities, the company now has around 50 employees distributed across Terceira Island (where 16 team members are based), mainland Portugal, and several other countries including Spain, the United Kingdom and Tunisia. The team comprises seven or eight different nationalities. The ambition is to further reinforce the workforce “because the projects demand it”.
One of Redcatpig’s distinctive features is its status as an official partner of major console manufacturers. Despite its insular condition, which could be seen as a handicap, the company is a PlayStation Partner and Nintendo Developer, and is in an advanced phase of integration into the Xbox development program.
This positioning allows the studio to develop and adapt games for multiple platforms, both within its own projects and in international contracts. In a sector marked by intense global restructuring, with tens of thousands of layoffs since 2022, the company states it has maintained a sustainable trajectory. “Redcatpig, being a sustainable company, has never conducted layoffs,” says the CEO, noting that from 2022 to 2026 the global industry is expected to total around 51,000 job cuts.
Marco Bettencourt contextualizes: “There has been a major shift within the industry, where larger studios have been outsourcing a significant portion of their work to external companies,” in a strategy aimed at reducing fixed costs.
The company’s journey is tied to the founder’s personal history. Born in Angra do Heroísmo, Marco Bettencourt spent his childhood in Rio de Janeiro (which still gives a hint of accent to his Portuguese) before returning to the Azores as a teenager. Lacking university programs aligned with his ambitions in digital and technological fields, he built his path through complementary training and professional experience in technology, including a period at Siemens linked to the implementation of GSM infrastructure in the region, at the time for TMN.
“In one day at Web Summit, we secured more than half the investment needed for two years of work.”
After an initial company in the Azores in the field of digital marketing, he decided to move into the video game sector with João Toste and Bryan Freitas. Redcatpig emerged when they secured two years of financing through business angels—funding that was closed during the Web Summit. “In one day at the Web Summit we secured more than half the investment needed for two years of work; because of that, the Web Summit has a special place in my heart,” says Bettencourt.
From 2019 to 2022, the company worked exclusively on its first proprietary title, KEO. The Early Access launch on Steam, the world’s largest gaming platform, in 2021 achieved, according to the CEO, “two million downloads in less than three days”. “It was this moment that, so to speak, placed us within the industry,” he states.
Alongside the second proprietary title, Hovershock, came a structural change in the business model: co‑development.
Success led international studios to approach Redcatpig for technical collaboration. What began as an exception became central. “I never imagined opening this new business model, which is Code Development. Never thought about it. To me, Redcatpig was only about producing its own games,” Bettencourt admits. “I can say that, at this moment, our core business model is Code Development.”
The company works through Independent Contractor Agreements with entities such as Netflix, Sumo Digital and other international studios. Partnerships may involve full development of a game based on a partner-provided Game Design Document, or the reinforcement of existing teams with specialists in areas such as performance, programming or animation.
One of the projects that can be publicly mentioned (in many cases, confidentiality clauses prevent disclosure, as major studios do not want public references to work they do not perform directly) is the porting of Planet of Lana to Android and iOS. The adaptation of the game—originally available only on the Nintendo Switch—was carried out by the Redcatpig team. “We were responsible for the porting, meaning the adaptation of the console game to these mobile platforms,” explains the CEO, adding that the title entered the top 5 of several digital store rankings after the adaptation, with positive feedback regarding the new mechanics “designed by our team together with the owning studio”.
Beyond the entertainment sector, the company also develops gamification solutions for insurance companies, banks, and IT firms, leveraging internal expertise in art, programming and project management.
In a sector heavily concentrated in major urban centers, the Azores location is, interestingly, embraced as a competitive advantage. Redcatpig began at the Startup Angra incubator, moved to the Terinov technology park, and recently settled into its own headquarters on Terceira Island.
Asked about the challenges of operating from an island region, Bettencourt replies: “You have to ask me that differently. What are the benefits of working in the Azores? Challenges? I don’t see many.” He adds: “The only small downside of being in the Azores is having to add, on some trips, an extra two hours of flight time.”
Bettencourt highlights the positive side of island life: “I spend far less time in traffic, for example, leaving me much more personal time.”
For the CEO, the island’s technological infrastructure, regional support and quality of life act as magnets for talent. The company notes growing interest from mainland and international workers looking to relocate to the Azores.
“It’s not because we’re in Portugal—much less because we’re in the Azores—that we fall short of any level of production within the video game industry. And the proof is there: always with great resilience, but also great care for people. Today, I am extremely proud to say that we have much of the top national talent, who have worked shoulder to shoulder with us,” says Bettencourt.
Talent retention and attraction are central to Redcatpig’s strategy: “I truly believe we are playing an interesting role in reversing a certain Portuguese brain drain,” he argues. “Portuguese people wanted to work in Portugal and for Portugal. The conditions simply weren’t there.”
The company also highlights its recognition as a Great Place to Work and its commitment to internal progression, with cases of employees joining as juniors and growing into intermediate and leadership roles.
In 2022, Portugal Ventures invested in the company, at a time when Redcatpig was beginning to generate revenue. Its first profitable year was 2023 and, by 2025, the company is billing three times more than in 2023 while remaining profitable, according to the CEO.
In a digital era, video games hold strong appeal—even in Portugal, where game consumption was estimated at around 258 million dollars in 2024, with a compound annual growth rate above 11% through 2027. Between 2018 and 2022, the sector’s turnover grew roughly 65% per year, the number of companies rose from 36 to 114, and the workforce surpassed 500. Gross Value Added doubled from 12 to 23 million euros.
Redcatpig emphasizes that this is a scalable digital industry with strong export potential and indirect effects across areas such as artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, digital audio and imaging, and cloud technologies.
“It’s not because we are in Portugal—much less in the Azores—that we fall short of any type of production within the video game industry.”
Programs such as the Mobilizing Agendas of the Recovery and Resilience Plan have promoted coordination between companies and research institutions, with an impact on creating skilled employment and regional decentralization, including in the Autonomous Regions. In this context, Redcatpig maintains applied research and advanced training partnerships with institutions such as Carnegie Mellon University, the IT University of Copenhagen and the Faculty of Human Kinetics of the University of Lisbon, as well as a regular presence at international events such as Gamescom and the Tokyo Game Show, where it showcases its titles and engages with publishers.
For 2026, major updates are planned for KEO and Hovershock, including a full release of KEO and Early Access availability for Hovershock: “It’s important to say that Redcatpig is not just a service provider. Not at all. Redcatpig continues to work on its own games,” says Bettencourt.
However, the novelties for 2026 also include new porting projects linked to major brands and related to events taking place this year: “Regarding projects with our partners, we have some big announcements to make probably during the first quarter of 2026, involving major projects with one of our partners. But we cannot reveal more at this time,” he says.
From Angra do Heroísmo, the company aims to strengthen its position in a global industry in transformation, establishing itself as a Portuguese studio capable of developing, adapting and exporting video games for some of the world’s largest platforms.
Paulo Marmé, "Da ilha Terceira para a PlayStation: a Redcatpig pôs os Açores no mapa global dos videojogos", 23 Fevereiro 2026, Forbes Portugal