It is once again time for another introspective. Whilst the degradation of the global games industry has been a compoundment of factors that included a post pandemic malaise, the rise of AI and the prevailing whims of a capitalistic structure, the rise of the African games industry has been a welcome salve in terms of its approach to design and the breadth of opportunities it presents. We are on the cusp of a real sliding doors moment.

With that said, it would be disingenuous to look ahead without an acknowledgement of the tens of thousands of jobs that have been lost over the past twelve months. Whilst those losses haven’t yet had the seismic impact across the continent, we are likely to feel its imprint over the coming 18 months. It’s the first of the trends we can expect to see from the African games industry.

2024 African Games Industry Trends

Want a refresher on last year’s trends, then feast your eyes on the State of the African Games Industry here.

Established teams under the spotlight: The continent is home to studios that have been building, refining, and churning out consistent and high-level work for years. Any studio with a core focus and strong commercial viability is likely to be targeted by Western publishers keen to expand their global remit as well as tap into creative resources that are comparatively cheaper than their global contemporaries. The first such move was made with the acquisition of 24 Bit Games by Annapurna Studios in November 2023.

Pooled resources: Speaking of resources, teams will be looking to mitigate any commercial risks by finding and partnering with their peers of a similar size and ideology. With the industry amid a funding freeze, the smart play is for consolidated budgets to maximize revenue.

Engineering core: Going back to the importance of a unique trait, as the eyes of the world turns to Africa, we can expect more studios to weigh the pros and cons of developing their own proprietary engine to support their creative ambitions. Considering the uncertainty around Unity’s business model and Unreal’s impending dominance of the engine space, developers will be seeking alternatives they can count on. Afterall, some of the more notable indie hits of the past decade have been built of a successful proprietary engine.

More access to first party platforms: More out of hope, than a trend, but following events such as Africa Games Week, Playtopia and Game Camp Africa, the continent has never been more under the spotlight as it is now and as such first party platforms such as Steam, Epic and the consoles will be looking to reap the regards by offering increased local currency support as well as providing support for developers wishing to make an entry into their respective ecosystems. These currently exist in spurts, but more can and should be done.

Global Games Market Report

According to the 2023 Global Games Market Report by Newzoo, the number of players is projected to reach 3.38 billion in 2023, which is a growth of +6.3% year on year. In terms of revenue, the global market is expected to generate revenues of $184.0 billion, with year-on-year growth of +0.6%.

Africa and the Middle East along with Latin America is expected to grow by 4.7% and 3.8% respectively, which is still only 5% of the global games market. However, spurred on by improving infrastructure and rapid mobile adoption, the continent is expected to continue its growth spurt.

Mobile Money

Thanks to insights from AppMagic, we can take a look at the revenue generating performances of Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa not just in 2023, but over the past few years to back up the narrative of the continent as a blossoming hotbed.

That is definitely the case when it comes to South Africa, which not only makes a strong case for being home to some of the more successful studios on the continent, but is the largest consumer of gaming content.

Between 2020 and 2023, the top ten games have accounted for over $110 million. With Candy Crush Saga generating almost $25 million over that period. Despite a small dip in 2022, South Africa has seen consistent growth year-on-year since 2020. Over the span of a year between 2020 and 2021, the revenue doubled from over $15 million to $31 million.

Egypt is the next best revenue generating country with the top ten titles accounting for over $40 million between 2020 and 2023. It’s enough to have it top the North African region whilst Nigeria generated almost $11 million over the same period.