Welcome to February
New month, New momentum
It’s the second month of the year 🥳
How has the year been treating you so far? More importantly, how are you feeling about your goals and vision for 2026? No pressure.Truly 🤗
February is another chance to make the coming days count. And if it helps, this is the month of love, a time for celebrating connections, community, and creativity.
(Is there a game about love? Thinking out loud 👀)
Fun fact: February this year is beautifully structured , 4 Mondays, 4 Tuesdays, 4 Wednesdays, 4 Thursdays, 4 Fridays, 4 Saturdays, and 4 Sundays.
Balanced. Intentional. Almost… game-like.
January wrapped up with a flurry of events, announcements, and conversations across the creative and games ecosystem. So for this edition, here’s a speedy recap (yes, that was intentional 😉) to catch you up on what you might have missed.
The end of January delivered two important industry reports
The African Creative Economy Report by Communiqué
The Nigerian Comics Industry Report by Bookause and The African Comic Empire
Both reports offer critical insights into the state of the ecosystem for African creatives and storytellers. If you haven’t yet, they’re absolutely worth adding to your reading list this week.
On the global front, a less cheerful report emerged from the GDC State of the games industry: nearly one-third of game developers in the U.S. have been laid off over the past two years.
Couple this with the recent buzz around Genie 3 which rattled stocks and sparked misinformation ( it’s really just an interactive world builder, not a game engine) , questions continue to surface around the long-term stability of the sector as a career path.
Global Game Jam 2026 : Africa Check-In 🎮
Global Game Jam 2026 has officially wrapped up. Across Africa, participation included 13 countries, 23 jam sites and 90+ games submitted.
As usual, North Africa led in both participation and number of sites, while Sub-Saharan Africa continues to lag in engagement at this scale. It’s a pattern worth examining and addressing if we’re serious about ecosystem growth.
Visibility, Virality & Missed Moments 🌍
IShowSpeed wrapped up his Africa tour but surprisingly, didn’t meaningfully intersect with the game development ecosystem. Aside from a livestream comment from Chewata Awaqi (Ethiopia), the opportunity for broader industry visibility slipped by.
It raises a bigger question: How do we go mainstream where it actually matters?
And perhaps more importantly, what is the real value of virality if it doesn’t translate into strategic visibility or opportunity? ( 🍲 for 💬 ).
ADDIS GAMES WEEK converges and spotlights the Ethiopian 🇪🇹 Games Industry
On a brighter note, Addis Games Week recently concluded and it was a blast🌟 .
From community collaboration to thoughtful design, structure, and systems, the Ethiopian games ecosystem continues to set a strong example. There’s a deep sense of intentionality and pride in how the community shows up. Truly, Adwa lives on in the hearts of today’s youth. There’s a lot the rest of the continent can learn here.
Xbox Game Camp Africa Returns
Xbox announced the 18 studios selected for Xbox Game Camp Africa.
The program will support African studios from early ideation through prototyping and pitching, with hands-on mentorship from Team Xbox. Participants will receive technical guidance, creative feedback, and business support as they refine both their games and their studios.
Leti Arts delves into the PC Gaming Market🚀
Ghanaian studio Leti Arts announced the launch of Karmzah on Steam—a bold and exciting move.
Known primarily for comics and mobile games, Karmzah marks Leti Arts’ first PC title, signaling a clear expansion in ambition and scope. The excitement from the studio is palpable, and it’s encouraging to see African studios confidently stepping into new platforms.
African Representation Reaches The Sims 🎮✨
Electronic Arts recently released the trailer for The Sims 4: Royalty & Legacy—and for the first time in the franchise’s history, it features authentic African cultural representation.
This milestone comes through a co-production between EA and PAGG, with contributions from Leti Arts (Ghana) and Usiku Games (Kenya). From fashion and hairstyles to food and character design, the expansion showcases African culture in a way that feels intentional, grounded, and respectful.
This is a significant moment—not just for representation—but for visibility, collaboration, and global positioning of African creative studios within major IPs. A strong signal that the continent is being seen, heard, and increasingly taken seriously.
IP, Inspiration & The “Eyes of Wakanda” Conversation 👁️
After weeks of online speculation, Thomas Ikimi, creator of The Crusaders, has finally spoken publicly about the controversy surrounding Disney’s Eyes of Wakanda.
Earlier, discussions initiated by the Rohr team suggested that Eyes of Wakanda may have drawn heavily from The Crusaders IP sparking widespread debate across the internet around intellectual property, influence, and ownership.
Thomas has now shared his perspective, offering clarity and nuance to the conversation.
Interestingly, some observers have also pointed out similarities between The Crusaders and Relooted.
There are no easy answers but it’s a timely reminder of why IP literacy and documentation matter, especially as African stories gain global attention.
Explore The Crusaders comics and Relooted, two amazing IP from the continent.
Benin🇧🇯 Video Games and Interactive Industry shakes up
The results of the Aux Futurs Ancestraux programme are in and they’re remarkable.
Funded by the FDAC (Fund for the Development of Arts and Culture of Benin), the initiative was launched to support Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs) in Benin. In October 2025, Beninese creatives participated in an immersive 15-day residency, producing machinimas inspired by Sacred sites, Vodun knowledge systems, sound archives , Oral histories and lived experiences
The teams traveled across Benin, meeting kings, high dignitaries, local authorities, artists, and historians, capturing real footage, sounds, and interviews across multiple regions and kingdoms.
The outcome?
✨ Three interactive films and one video game, deeply rooted in cultural preservation and contemporary storytelling.
This project stands as yet, another application of how interactive media can be used to document, preserve, and reimagine cultural heritage, and ots heartwarming to see it happing in Benin Republic, a region that didn’t have much going on in this sector.
You can also watch an in-depth interview with industry expert and curator Isabelle Arvers, who offers valuable insights into the project’s vision and execution.
Studio Spotlight
StoriWeave, created by Organized Khaos, a Ghanaian games and immersive media studio, is now live 🚀
StoriWeave is an interactive learning platform that helps children learn through stories, choices, and games, blending play with education in a meaningful way. The project was developed under the UNICEF Startup Lab Ghana programme.
It’s part of the growing “Games for Change” movement , using interactive media to teach, inspire, and shape how the next generation of Africans think, learn, and engage with the world.
Explore it. Test it. Support local builders pushing African creativity and innovation forward 🎮✨
This edition was getting quite long, so We will pause here and get back to you this weekend with opportunities you shouldn’t miss out on, so stay tuned!!!