Country & Regional Reports·Updated Mar 17, 2026 by Games Industry Africa
The African gaming market is a high-growth mobile-first sector, with the player base expanding from 77 million in 2015 to 186 million in 2021 and annual revenues projected to exceed $1 billion by 2024.
Infrastructure instability remains the primary barrier to professionalization, with 60% of industry participants identifying poor power supply and high internet costs as critical obstacles to growth.
The industry is currently in a nascent, hobbyist-dominated state where 59% of developers have never secured external investment and only 36% earn a full-time living from their work.
Development is heavily centralized around the Unity engine, which is used by 64% of the market to produce mobile-focused content, mirroring global trends in mobile gaming.
While the market is largely fragmented, high-profile activity such as Carry1st’s $27 million funding round and GBarena’s $15 million acquisition of Galactech indicates emerging investor confidence.
Growth is geographically concentrated in South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya, where a young demographic is increasingly incorporating local cultural themes into digital entertainment.
Government support for the sector is minimal, currently reaching only 3% of industry participants, highlighting a significant gap in the institutional framework required for market maturity.
The African gaming market is a high-growth mobile-first sector, with the player base expanding from 77 million in 2015 to 186 million in 2021 and annual revenues projected to exceed $1 billion by 2024.
Infrastructure instability remains the primary barrier to professionalization, with 60% of industry participants identifying poor power supply and high internet costs as critical obstacles to growth.
The industry is currently in a nascent, hobbyist-dominated state where 59% of developers have never secured external investment and only 36% earn a full-time living from their work.
Development is heavily centralized around the Unity engine, which is used by 64% of the market to produce mobile-focused content, mirroring global trends in mobile gaming.
While the market is largely fragmented, high-profile activity such as Carry1st’s $27 million funding round and GBarena’s $15 million acquisition of Galactech indicates emerging investor confidence.
Growth is geographically concentrated in South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya, where a young demographic is increasingly incorporating local cultural themes into digital entertainment.
Government support for the sector is minimal, currently reaching only 3% of industry participants, highlighting a significant gap in the institutional framework required for market maturity.