Games have always been an effective medium for telling stories and maintaining culture. Long before the rise of Candy Crush and Wordle, many viral video games have become footpaths to the promotion of Western cultures, video games such as The Sims and Grand Theft Auto. However, no game concentrated on the second-largest continent. The problem is not that Africans don’t play games. On the contrary, Africa’s gaming industry generated $590 million in revenue last year, according to a Newzoo report.
Over the past years, Africa has witnessed a huge turn in the video gaming industry with South Africa leading the gaming revolution in Africa.
A 2021 study commissioned by Newzoo, a games analytics company shows the number of gamers in sub-Saharan Africa, currently stands at 186 million people, an increase from 77 million in 2015.
With 24 million gamers, South Africa currently leads as the country with the most significant number of video gamers in Africa has 40% of the population playing video games.
Ghana ran up with 27% and Nigeria with 23% taking third place. Kenya and Ethiopia finish fourth and fifth in the continent with 22% and 13% of their population in gaming respectively.
Moving forward these figures are most likely to triple in coming years with the evolution and adoption of smartphones one can play their favourite video games anywhere. And also with the rising availability and popularity of multi-functional gaming consoles, in the market and helping in growing the market of video games in the African continent.
Where are we currently?
We have seen a revolution in the development of game likewise with more Africans learning coding and game development skills which have brought about the development of video games that depicts the African culture and also educate people about the African history, culture, and terrain.
One of those games is “Manchi” The game is about The adventure of Kala and Tonye as they embark on an adventure, stricken by lies around them.
Another is “Aboki Run” The game is like Temple Run but in an African forest.
Also building around the #ENDSARS story which is a movement in Nigeria to end police brutality in Nigeria, we have Speed Drift: ENDSARS by Six Path Studio.
The Future
From what we’ve seen so far we look forward to a huge explosion in the gaming industry in Africa with more companies taking interest in the African market. We have seen organisations and game communities, emerging from different countries and they have been promoting the industry, creating more awareness, and more inclusion.
Also in the southern part of Nigeria, we have communities like Gameverse Africa, and Arutu Gaming doing so much like game development, gamathons and also diving into Esport and gamefi, advocating strongly about the solutions gaming solves in our society.
Also with VR technologies, we will be seeing a shift to virtual gaming in the African market. These technologies help to create a realistic image along with sound and other sensations to offer an imaginary setting which prompts a gamer’s physical presence in the environment so you can have the feel of running in the forest or seeing and hearing a lion loudly roaring at you.
Lastly, following the massive adoption of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies in Africa game builders can make money through transaction fees and the sale of in-game assets and players can earn or win real money, resources, and equipment to improve their characters.
Alright, that will be all, for now, thank you for reading this far.
Alabo Excel
Technical Writer, Web Developer @ Gameverse Africa
