The 2024 edition of the largest industry event in Europe has drawn to a close and with it the departure of African game developers back to their respective countries. It was an event of major milestones with this year’s event seeing the largest contingent of African game developers in attendance.

Paving the way

In the fifteen years since Gamescom became a mainstay of the global gaming landscape and moved from Leipzig to Cologne, the continent of Africa has never had its own pavilion on the show floor. It has had sponsored initiatives to bring developers to Gamescom, but never under one banner. The pavilion was a success with consistent coverage and attention from media outlets across Europe.

Sponsored by Creation Africa, the pavilion featured among others from a host of Sub-saharan studios and was helmed by the likes of Bukola Akingbade, Teddy Kossoko and Sidick Bakayoko. The North and South were also well represented with a strong South African contingent.

Here and Now

Gamecom was preceded by Devcom which featured a host of African developers in several different panel discussions and presentations. Some highlights include the Diversifying Game Audio Panel which was moderated by Hugo Obi from Maliyo Games and hosted by Black in Gaming.

Additionally, there was a closer look at the industry’s new hotbed. A panel discussion featuring speakers that included Eyram Tawia, Raymond Ledwaba, Dominion Eromsele and Hugo Obi. The session took a glocal look at the African games industry (Facts and Figures) as well as the recent successes of studios from the continent to a global audience over the past 12 months.

A bunch of games were featured on the show floor with NewGen Studios, Free Lives, QCF, ITTHYNK, Pressure Cooker, Clockwork Acorn and more. Gamescom has already broken attendance records, but from an African games industry perspective, the 2024 edition put down a marker for future versions to come when it comes to representation for the continent.