For African gamers, representation in video games is so much more than a visual touch, it’s about belonging.
It’s seeing characters who represent their cultures, stories that celebrate their histories, and landscapes that acknowledge their homelands.
Africa is a continent of wealth and creativity, from vibrant megacities to cutting-edge tech to immense creative talent.
But these aspects seldom see light in mainstream gaming.
Why Are So Many of Us Still Baffled?
Africa’s vibrant identity has been overlooked for much of the gaming industry’s history.
When it does appear in games, it is as a backdrop of wide deserts, wildlife reserves, or war-torn derogatory landscapes.
Such tales disregard the real story of a continent at the forefront of mobile banking with a growing fintech sector, containing the mineral wealth, from gold and diamonds to cobalt, that fuels the gaming industry itself.
Gaming is about more than objectively enjoying passable entertainment; it’s a path to narrative, culture, and advancement.
African developers and creators are showing that Africa is not only a participant in the gaming world but a front-runner as well.
Studios all over Africa are creating games that blend folklore, science fiction, and high-tech dreams of the future that reflect the continent’s light and ingenuity, not dusty stereotypes.
Kiro’o Games
Based in Yaoundé, Cameroon, Kiro’o Games is renowned for its role-playing game, ‘Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan’, which draws inspiration from African mythology and culture
Leti Arts
Founded by Eyram Tawia in Ghana, Leti Arts focuses on creating games and digital comics that celebrate African stories and superheroes, such as the, ‘Africa’s Legends’ series.
Maliyo Games
A Nigerian studio, Maliyo Games develops mobile games that incorporate local narratives and settings, aiming to provide culturally relevant gaming experiences.
Triggerfish Animation Studios
Located in Cape Town, South Africa, Triggerfish has produced animated films like, ‘Khumba’ and ‘Adventures in Zambezia’, which blend African folklore with modern storytelling techniques.
Why It Matters
A good game tells an emotional story.
Players develop visceral attachments to characters over time, even recognizing bits of themselves reflected back.
But what happens when the mirror is never held up?
When a child plays a game and only sees foreign heroes, they lose the opportunity to celebrate their own cultures in gameplay.
When African history is bypassed to include medieval castles and futuristic cyberpunk cities, (which are cool as hell don’t get me wrong) it imbues the idea that Africa has no place in either the past or future.
However, Africa is more than just simply history, it is actively making its mark on the future with its flourishing gaming industry, local developers, and global esports achievements.
Six teams made it to the two-day Carry1st Africa Cup finals, which followed seven months of qualifying events in Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa involving more than 100 teams, and was eventually won by South Africa’s Noxious Gaming (NxG).
The organisation has hosted more than 400 tournaments, mostly through universities – since it was founded in 2018.
Its online network, Tribe, has attracted hundreds of thousands of gamers from across the continent
A New Wave of Change
Gaming is the vibrant, unstoppable new frontier of Africa.
Game developers are building world-class games from Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya.
And most recently in Tunisia, Ivory Coast and Ethiopia with Exscape, celebrating African culture.
Games such as Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan and Orisha leverage African mythology and storytelling to provide players with authentic and prideful narratives.
It is also getting attention from major global studios.
Assassin’s Creed Origins offered a stunning depiction of ancient Egypt, and indie offerings are bringing African landscapes, languages, and narratives to life.
But true change, the kind that makes a difference, comes when African creators are empowered with the resources, platforms, and recognition to tell their own stories on the world stage.
More Than Just a Game
For many African gamers, gaming is not just a hobby, it embodies their potential.
It is where the continent’s tech, culture, and creative genius can work its magic.
It’s about deliberately ensuring that when they pick up their phone or pick up a controller, the world on the other side of the screen recognizes Africa as more than an afterthought but as a natural wellspring of innovation and inspiration.
Because gaming, at its best, is about connection.
And connection begins with acknowledgment and celebration.
