Burdened with poverty and infrastructure problems such as unreliable telecoms and electricity supplies, Africa has traditionally lagged far behind other continents in gaming. But, recent years have seen an extraordinary boom with the number of gamers in sub-Saharan Africa increasing to 186 million people in 2021 from just 77 million in 2015. Of those 186 million, 63 million are paying for games as the continent embraces digital currencies. Meanwhile, 95% of the continent’s market uses mobile devices, reflecting Africa’s improved internet access and affordable smartphones.
In the midst of the changes and despite the difficulties, this region has rapidly embraced new trends in the industry. Countries like Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, and South Africa are quickly adopting cryptocurrencies, faster than the rest of the world. Seen as the future of e-commerce, blockchain technology is a key part of the gaming and gambling industry, constantly evolving and adding new innovations such as crash and crypto gambling.
“There’s a huge opportunity,” said Nick Hall, the Co-Founder of Africa Games Week, a major annual event in Cape Town. “Now is… the best time really to be making games or trying to get into the games industry because we’re hoping in the next few years we’re going to see a massive spike in growth.”
Africa, along with China and India, is expected to surpass a billion gamers. Additionally, the continent is home to the industry’s “last untapped consumer audience,” said Hall. He predicts that Africa could reach one billion video game players over the next five years. To cash in on Africa’s gaming boom, large developers need to work with local content creators, such as streamers or YouTubers, he added.
(All information was provided by Justgamblers and Africanews)
0 comments on “Africa Recording High Numbers Of Gamers”