InnoGames, the online games publisher, has opened up a new studio in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The new studio will help expand the companies presence in the region. Marcus Imaizumi, the former Sulake country manager, will head up the new studio.

“We see Brazil as one of the largest growth areas in the world at the moment,” said InnoGames COO Michael Zillmer. “The development of its infrastructure – especially in terms of the internet – has proceeded fast in recent years, largely due to the upcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Olympics.”

“We do believe, however, that success in this market rests on local knowledge and local contacts,” Zillmer added. “The existing user base is a big advantage for us because we don’t have to start from scratch. We will put our focus on community management, and particularly media and payment partners to identify additional acquisition channels.”

InnoGames currently employs more than 200 people in its Hamburg-based headquarters. There are also more than 100 million registered players playing InnoGames games. The company also plans on expanding the total number of employees by 50 percent by the end of 2013.