Google picks 10 African studios for $1 million games fund

Google Play has named the 10 studios it will back from its first Indie Games Fund in Africa, a $1 million commitment aimed at developers who often struggle to find early-stage money.

Google announced the 2026 cohort on 28 October 2026 on its Africa blog. It opened applications earlier in the year, and the fund gives selected studios non-dilutive funding, meaning studios give up no equity.

The 10 studios

South Africa and Nigeria have 4 studios each, and Ghana and Kenya have 1 each. Google named a game for each:

• Clockwork Acorn (South Africa): Jetstream, a puzzle game
• Disputed People (South Africa): Mitts and the Divine Recipes, a 3D adventure
• Studio Bo (South Africa): Idle Sands, an idle-clicker
• Vetkoek Studios (South Africa): Taxi Ranked, a driving game about minibus taxis
• Deluxe Entertainment Studios (Nigeria): Rasta Santa, a 2D platformer set in Lagos
• Fer Factor (Nigeria): Chore Master, a cleaning game
• Gazuntype Entertainment (Nigeria): Go North, an exploration adventure
• Maliyo Games (Nigeria): Safari City, a match-3 puzzle and renovation game
• Leti Games (Ghana): Sweave, a rhythm game inspired by African weaving
• Weza Interactive (Kenya): Riziki, a rhythm adventure set to Afrobeats

What the studios get

Alongside the funding, each studio receives tailored technical guidance and one-to-one mentorship from Google Play specialists. Google said the programme also gives access to commercial and growth resources from Google Play, with technical support from the game engine company Unity.

The post does not say how much each studio will receive, how many studios applied, how long the support runs, or what the studios must deliver in return.

A market growing from a small base

PwC forecasts that video games revenue in all 3 of its African markets will outpace the global growth rate of 3.6% a year: 8.5% in Nigeria, 5.8% in Kenya and 4.3% in South Africa, as reported in October.

South Africa’s longest-running gaming event, rAge, returns as a gaming and esports festival from 27 to 29 November 2026. Several of the funded titles are casual mobile games, a category that PwC says made up 77% of Nigeria’s gaming revenue in 2025 when counted as social and casual games.