Africa takes aim at the video game market – Technologist

LETTER FROM WEST AFRICA

In the imaginary republic of Mboa, you’re a civil servant determined to rise through the ranks. On your quest to the top, will you opt for scrupulous management of public money or give in to the siren calls of corruption? These are the kinds of challenges presented by Le Responsable Mboa, a mobile video game developed by Cameroonian studio Kiro’o Games, a preliminary version of which is already available on Google’s Play Store.

“To create this social parody, we set out from what Africans talk about every day on social media: ‘Why are we poor when our politicians seem to be living their best lives?’,” said Kiro’o Games founder Olivier Madiba maliciously. The game is due for completion in 2026, predicted Madiba, who promises future fans a fit of laughter “every five minutes.”

This is a new gamble for Kiro’o Games, a pioneer in the African video game industry, which has already achieved a fine record of success. Critically acclaimed since its launch in 2016 on PC, its signature game, the “African fantasy” Aurion, was released last April on Microsoft’s Xbox. “A first for a studio from black Africa,” said Madiba. It is another proof of the growing interest of global industry players in the African video game scene.

In the footsteps of Nollywood and Afrobeats

“The driving force is the desire for new narratives, new stories,” said Nick Hall, co-founder of Africa Games Week, the continental industry’s grand showcase held annually since 2016 in South Africa. “Africa is the last region to have been under-explored by those big companies, and the quality of local talent is starting to be recognized.” In July, Microsoft organized the second African edition of its Xbox Game Camp, in Johannesburg (South Africa), Nairobi (Kenya) and Casablanca (Morocco), bringing together experts, developers and game enthusiasts from across the continent.

In recent months, several deals have caught the eye. These include the takeover of South African studio 24 Bit Games by US publisher Annapurna Interactive at the end of 2023. Or Sony’s investment in South African games publisher Carry1st in early 2024. The PlayStation manufacturer drew on its new $10 million Sony Innovation Fund to support the African video game industry. Partnerships are also being set up, such as the one sealed in February between Disney and Nigerian studio Maliyo Games to create a mobile game based on the Afro-futuristic animated series Iwaju.

Maliyo Games founder Hugo Obi launched his studio in 2012, after years spent in the UK in finance and human resources. A “repatriation” guided by one goal: to create a new flagship cultural export, along the lines of what Nigeria has achieved in film and music. “Nollywood and Afrobeats, each in their own field, have brought diversity and appeal to a vast audience in Africa and the rest of the world. We can achieve the same result with video games,” said the entrepreneur.

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