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Market Dynamics

 Driver: Improving Internet Access and Connectivity Infrastructure in Africa

Africa's online gaming market is poised for growth as enhanced internet access has the potential to provide millions with opportunities to download content, access online games, and connect with the global community of gamers. As of 2023, nearly 74% of the African population uses mobile broadband mostly powered by 3G and 4G technologies with the advancement of 5G also on the rise in countries such as South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya. For example, more than 164 million people in Nigeria are internet subscriber over 45.3 million South African citizens with internet subscriptions. This will allow gamers to utilize multiplayer games, e-sport platforms, and cloud gaming services that require a steady and continuous supply of strong internet.

Mobile data access in some African countries has also been a factor for the growth of the gaming market in the region. One of the main objectives of the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) is to ensure that countries like Rwanda and Ghana do not charge exorbitant prices for mobile data which they did five years ago when the price for 1GB mobile data was extremely high with a few nations providing assistance. This only aided the expansion of the gaming population, especially the youth which constitutes 60% of Africa’s demographics. Furthermore, increased broadband facilitated access to competitive e-sports content. In 2023, Gamr, an e-sports start-up, noted over 300,000 registered players from across 24 African nations, underscoring the role connectivity plays as a barrier to growth.

Along with online gaming, cloud gaming also stands to gain from the improvement in internet infrastructure – for now, primitive in many respects. Just as there is an estimated 1.2 million African gamers using cloud-based gaming services in 2023, it is about time that Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming and Nvidia’s GeForce Now amass a significant user base, which seems to be the case that is slowly developing.

Trend: Rise of Mobile Gaming as the Dominant Platform

The popularity of mobile phones is paving the way for mobile gaming market in Africa to take over the gaming industry. Africa stands to have a player base of more than 200 million gamers, 95% of whom rely solely on mobile devices. This trend can be attributed to a high number of low-priced phones, as in the last five years alone, Transsion, Tecno, Infinix and Itel have sold around 200 million phones combined. Now that these gadgets can be bought for as low as $50, children and parents in low- and middle-income families can easily afford to play games allowing them easy access to the gaming world or if we may say to afford low- and middle-income games. 

Mobile gaming generated revenue amounting to $300 million in 2023 which is more than 15% of the African total gaming market revenue, with mobile phones accounting for 90% of this revenue margin. This was further witnessed and facilitated by a rising trend of purchasing in- apps and microtransaction with the average African Gamer spending $6 on buying vintage games. For example, candy crush saga, free fire and PUBG Mobile now have millions of downloads on mobile-based devices making them some of the top leading games in the market that specifically tap or endeavor casual gaming. Moreover, African developers have started focusing on games based on the local audience such as Nairobi X and Semblance targeting gamers with specific content who are mostly looking for local games.

The expansion of mobile gaming has also contributed to the development of competitive e-sports by increasing participation in mobile based tournaments. For instance, the Africa Mobile Gaming League had over 500,000 participants in the year 2023 and community based free to play games like Call of Duty: Mobile are increasing. Moreover, mobile payment systems like M-Pesa and Paystack have enabled in app purchases to be fluid which has also stimulated in app expenditure on mobile games. Given the increasing penetration of smartphones and the expansion of 4G, mobile gaming is likely to remain dominant and by doing so strengthen its position in the context of the African gaming industry.

Challenge: Lack of Investment and Funding for Game Development

Even though the African gaming market has vast potential, the under-funding of local games development continues to be a major obstacle. A survey carried out in 2023 revealed that 59% of the African game developers managed to find external funding for their projects. Such limited funding could mostly only be acquired through funds from the Diaspora whilst there is little or zero through local instrumentalities. Although South African mobile games developer, Carry1st was able to raise over US$27 million. Therefore, it is clear that only large companies were able to take advantage of this while small scale developers were left without enough resources for expanding their projects. 

Infrastructure inadequacy makes the persistent funding gap even worse. Other players in the African game development space have challenges obtaining affordable development tools, high-speed internet, and competent people. As per statistics, developers in Africa earn an average of US$ 800 a year while their counterparts in more matured gaming markets earn substantially more. Furthermore the scalability of their operations is limited as the majority of African studios utilize black markets to acquire necessary gaming hardware and software. Therefore, this deprivation of resources has also inhibited the creation of locally produced games that are forged on African stories and thus solely 2% of the gaming market in this region was made up by African funded projects.

International capital, although increasing, comes with the issues of equity and control. Many investors are more focused on returns and global outreach, which contradicts with the objectives of the African studios which are devoted to local stories. Still, there are programs like Google Black Founders Fund and the Black Game Developer Fund which in one way or the other have been able to boast the number of African developers expecting to receive support the figure to be over 50 in 2023, where grants were provided without an equity issue. 

Segmental Analysis

By Game Type 

In Africa, sports video games remain the popular category and record almost 40% of revenue of the Africa gaming market. This is primarily due to the sporting traditions that are prevalent in the region, specifically Soccer. Football goes beyond having diverse cultures, languages and countries; it is an integral part of society. Such an urge easily transfers to the virtual sphere where countless football fans in Africa consume football-related content. FIFA 23 or eFootball 2023 ( Jointly Known as Pro Evolution Soccer ) provides billions of peoples to play their favourite matches with the team and stars they love most. This progression of networks conveniently strengthens already existing appetite for soccer in the region.

In Africa, FIFA 23 still remains a best-selling video game as over 1.5 million copies were sold in this region in the year 2023. Likewise, eFootball 2023 registered 3.2 million downloads by African users on mobile devices. e-Sports in Africa’s gaming market has also greatly increased the uptake for soccer video games, with events like the African Esports Championship attracting over 100,000 gamers, and millions more watching from different parts of the Africa. Such tournaments have established a competitive gaming culture that caters for both recreational and professional players. As an instance, the FIFA Global Series Africa qualifying round for this year alone, attracted more than 10 000 participants.

Males between the ages of 18 and 35 largely remain the main buyers of sports games. Even in 2023, this age group constituted over 70% of FIFA Ultimate Team online games coming from Africa. The low price of gaming controllers, particularly used PlayStation 4 sets (which actually reached 800,000 sales in Africa this year), combined with greater use of mobile gadgets, guarantees the rise of sports games. Furthermore, mobile titles such as Dream League Soccer and First Touch Soccer have received more than 30 million downloads from African counties in the gaming market adding to the demand for gaming with a football theme. This combination of love for sport and easy access to digital formats makes sure that football games continue to be on the top of the charts for Africa’s gaming industry.

By Device Type

Mobile phones now dominate 60% share of Africa’s gaming market, significantly improving access for millions across the continent. In 2023, the total number of mobile users across Africa shoot above 650 million and these devices are cheaper compared to bigger consoles and pcs. Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya are the top nations in terms of mobile phone subscriptions, with over 110 million subscribers as of this year. Such extensive penetration of mobile devices makes gaming much easier to reach for many people including people in the remote regions were gaming was not commonplace. In Africa, as of 2023 ,more than 300 million users gained access to video games via their smartphones making it the most popular medium on the continent, with titles such as PUBG Mobile and Call of duty mobile having almost 60 million users from Africa alone. Furthermore, the phenomenon of Free-to-Play (F2P) games in the Africa gaming market has accelerated mobile gaming which saw Garena Free Fire averaging 15 million active African gamers on a monthly basis. The mobile game market in Africa reached a gross of US$ 1.5 billion above in 2023 which is proof of the economic prowess this market has.

The number of mobile internet users in Africa has increased this year by over 40 million- which explains the increasing market. Improved internet access and developers’ focus towards optimizing mobile games specifically for Africa will navigate tremendous growth in the years to come. In light of this information, it is impressive to see that more than 500 mobile titles targeted to the African audience went live last year. Furthermore, local creators are also turning heads considering that Maliyo Games’ Whot King has already managed to achieve three million downloads this year. Moreover, international developers are now creating cloud-based lightweight games that don’t use up a lot of data or space, with Subway Surfers for example, being downloaded 20 million times in Africa during the year 2023. With the help of the latest developments in mobile gaming, the whole interaction that the continent is seeing is unprecedented and it is now clear that mobile devices dominate the gaming industry in that region.

By Revenue Model

The F2P gaming market is developing in Africa, enabling many to access affordable leisure activities. In fact, two years ago, F2P games made up over 80% of all game downloads in Sub-Saharan Africa and is currenly capturing almost 55% of the market revenue share. The reason they are popular is because they are free to use, and given the region’s average income. Titles like Garena Free Fire and PUBG Mobile as a result have excelled in terms of usage, with each of them have more than 15 million active users a month across The African continent. In most developing countries, the growth of mobile money services like M-Pesa made more exposure to in-game spending possible, hence making F2P games appealing businesses in these regions. 

The proliferation of F2P games in the Africa’s gaming market says more about their success than anything else. For example, it was reported in 2023 that nearly 400 million installed F2P games were in use out of which Candy Crush Saga and Temple run have featured among the top games According to download charts consistently. In game advertising has become significant income generator making up to $500m a year enabling game developers to make better revenues and offer free games at the same time. Furthermore, it is reported that African gamers spent more than $200 million on microtransactions like skins and upgrades in 2023, which encourages the use of microtransactions. Given Africa's particular market characteristics, companies in the gaming industry are more often adopting F2P models. 

By Demographics

Male consumers constitute 60% of Africa’s gaming market revenue. Based on statistics, 150 men in the age bracket of 18-35 were the largest consumers of African continent services of the estimated 200 million men in the continent and greatest user of the gaming market in the year 2023. That cross section of the society has been found to be significantly inclined towards sports, action, and strategy games such as FIFA, Call of Duty Mobile and PUBG Mobile among other games. In particular, esports has become very popular in the recent years, with over 60% of male participants in African gaming tournaments. Events like the Africa Games Showcase were also well attended this year, having reported more than 50,000 male attendees. Wherein, cultural factors and societal norms weigh heavily on the subject. In the year 2023 alone, men were recorded to have bought more than 5 million gaming consoles some of which were second hand across the African continent. The male demographic of gamers has also had an improvement in their gaming experiences due to controllers and other peripherals which became cheaper to acquire.

Competitive gaming is also a crucial area of focus, with regional tournaments in the African gaming market being won mainly by male participants. For example, this year, the number of men who entered the African League of Legends Championship exceeded 20,000, while the number of men participants in the FIFA Global Series surpassed 10, 000 from Africa. Male participation has also been significantly increased by social gaming. In 2023, 70 million African male gamers playing multiplayer games in a week stood out and Fortnite being the most sought out options. The collaborative and competitive aspect of gaming, particularly among males within esports and multiplayer games, has been enhanced. Besides, the mobile gaming trend has made it easier for males to play games while traveling.

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Top Players in Africa Gaming Market

• Kucheza
• Kagiso Interactive
• Nyamakop
• Celestial Games
• Kiro'o Games
• Kuluya
• Nairabet
• Gamsole
• Other Prominent Players

Market Segmentation Overview:

• By Game Type
  • Shooter
  • Action
  • Sports
  • Role Playing
  • Others
• By Device Type
  • PC/MMO
  • Tablet
  • Mobile Phone
  • TV/Console
• By Revenue Model
  • Free-to-Play (F2P)
  • Pay-to-Play (P2P)
  • Subscription Model
  • In-App Purchases
• By Demographics
  • Kids
  • Male
  • Female