Google Play has named ten independent studios for its first Africa Indie Games Fund.
Google committed $1 million to the programme to close the funding gap for indie developers on the continent. It also wants to help them overcome barriers to international distribution.
Each selected studio will receive a share of non-dilutive funding. The studios also get commercial and growth resources, one-on-one mentorship from Google Play specialists, and technical support from Unity.
Google says the package is meant to help them optimise their games, scale sustainably, and reach a global audience.
Nigeria and South Africa lead the cohort with four studios each, while Ghana and Kenya have one each.
The Nigerian studios
Maliyo Games was founded in 2012. It will be backed for Safari City, a mobile puzzle and renovation game in which players solve match-3 puzzles to restore a rundown town.
Deluxe Entertainment Studios is building Rasta Santa, a 2D platformer set in Lagos. Players take the role of an undercover cop disguised as Santa who fights traffickers to rescue children.
Fer Factor is a Lagos-based studio behind Chore Master, a cozy game about cleaning chaotic rooms. Its creative director, Feranmi Oladosu, told Condia earlier this month that he would doubt anyone who claims to have the answer to monetisation.
Gazuntype Entertainment is the development alias of Tade Ajiboye, who has over a decade of experience in games and VR. The studio’s title, Go North, is a story-driven exploration adventure.
The rest of the cohort
From South Africa, Clockwork Acorn was selected for Jetstream, a puzzle game with more than 100 hand-crafted levels.
Disputed People was picked for Mitts and the Divine Recipes, a 3D retro-inspired adventure. Studio Bo also has Idle Sands, a 2D idle clicker. Vetkoek Studios has Taxi Ranked, a driving game built around South African minibus taxis.
Ghana’s Leti Games Limited was selected for Sweave, a rhythm-based mobile game inspired by traditional African weaving. Kenya’s Weza Interactive was selected for Riziki, a free-to-play rhythm adventure set to Afrobeats, Amapiano, and Rhumba. It was founded by twin brothers Odongo George Ahere and James Ahere.
The titles cover action platformers, cozy puzzles, rhythm games, and simulations. Google says the aim is to bring authentic African stories and gameplay mechanics to a worldwide audience.
Nigerian players have already shown that such stories can travel. In September, Lagos Run, a browser game by developer Opeyemi Adeniran that puts players behind the wheel of a danfo, went viral on Nigerian social media. Weeks later, Lagos Life, a browser-based simulation of everyday life in the city, drew a large following after launching in early October. Its creator, Shalom Rayhamen, has said Lagos Run helped inspire it, and it has reportedly passed one million players.
Both games run in a browser, so they skipped the app store and distribution hurdles that the Google fund is meant to ease for studios building for mobile.
Last updated: October 29, 2026
