Numerous key figures from the continent’s video game industry convened in Cape Town, South Africa, on the first day of December for the 5th edition of the Africa Games Week to discuss the present and future of the industry as well as to exchange ideas to assist each other in advancing the industry to new heights.
The three-day event has made a name for itself as one of the leading hubs for video game developers, content creators, and industry executives from all across the African continent and the rest of the world to interact, engage, and expand the African video games industry.
Like previous years, this year’s event was such a major treat with a variety of conferences, workshops, pitch competitions, deal tourism, and B2B meetings on display that I was honestly unsure of where to start my exploration of the current condition and prospects of the continent’s video game industry.
However, I’ve chosen to focus on three key things that this year’s Africa Games Week caught my attention. The first is the games at the event, which demonstrate the extraordinary talent that exists on the continent for game development.
Ammaarah Noormohamed, a South African game developer, created the interactive narrative game “Identity Crisis,” which drew my attention. The first volume of the game is accessible on Ammaarah’s Itch.io page, so you can try it out for yourself. The game offers an unusual concept that drew me in as I was immersed in the world of a little girl’s journal, hopping through the text and visuals of her captivating story.
At the event, there were also a lot of workshops and conferences with some of the biggest players from the continent in the industry, like Kenyan Sylvia Gathoni, popularly known online as QueenArrow, who spoke about the future of the gaming industry in terms of the law. Eyram Tawia, co-founder and CEO of Leti Arts, spoke at the occasion about the commercial difficulties the game industry has and how to solve them.
If you missed anything during the 5th edition of the Africa Games Week, don’t worry—the livestream is still accessible on the Africa Games Week YouTube channel for your viewing pleasure. I’ll be watching the other events I missed, and it’s going to be so much fun.