Report: Egypt leads Africa’s games market with $368m in revenue
| Date | Type | Companies Involved | Key Datapoint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 3, 2025 | report | Maliyo Games | Egypt to make $368m in 2025 |
- Mobile dominates Nigeria’s games scene, with 90% of players gaming on phones.
- Kenya and Côte d’Ivoire are emerging markets, earning $46m and $31.9m respectively
- Africa’s games market generates $2.1bn, supported by 349m gamers.
- The continent’s esports sector is valued at around $40m and projected to exceed $60m by 2025.
Egypt leads Africa's games revenue forecasts for 2025 with $368 million and over 20m players.
That's according to a new Nigerian Gaming and Esports report by Maliyo Games, which showed that South Africa follows with 26.5m players generating $278m.
Nigeria's games industry accounts for the highest number of players, amassing 46.5m of Africa’s 349m gamers and generating around $250-300m in revenue.
Moreover, about 90% of Nigeria's 46.5m gamers play on mobile, making it the country’s dominant gaming platform.
Kenya and Côte d’Ivoire are emerging games markets, earning $46m and $31.9m respectively, while Africa overall generates $2.1 billion in games revenue.
Esports growth
On the esports side, the report showed that Africa generates around $40m from competitive gaming, and is expected to cross $60m by 2025.
South Africa leads with $7 to $10m in revenue and up to 3m viewers. Egypt follows with $5m to $7m and as many as 6m viewers. Despite a population of 235m, Nigeria comes third with an estimated $3 to $6m and one to three million viewers.
Kenya and Côte d’Ivoire trail behind, with revenues under $2m and around $600,000, respectively, and smaller audiences below 1.5m.
“Today’s industry rests largely on the efforts of a few determined individuals and companies; pioneers who have navigated structural, institutional, and social challenges to lay esports’ foundation in Nigeria," said Maliyo Games founder Hugo Obi.
He added: “Our desire to play, connect, and create is as vital to our humanity as our need for shelter. Increasingly, those needs are being met through digital and interactive spaces where the controller or phone becomes a portal to competition, collaboration, and community.”
You can access the full report here.
Companies
