Connecting the Dots Looking Backwards

This report is prepared in an effort to connect those dots.

Before Gamescom, WAI Network collaborated with Africacomicade and Narratify Agency to build the working map below, mapping the African studios, creators, and ecosystem stakeholders expected to attend.

Beyond the Attendance List

At first, the task seemed straightforward: go to Gamescom, find the African companies and creators who made it there, listen to their stories, and document what we find.

Along the way, we started seeing that people, companies, countries, and opportunities were already connected, some in ways we had not yet anticipated.

This report brings together an initial evidence base of 30+ recorded conversations with African developers and ecosystem stakeholders, alongside observations from Gamescom 2026 and the relationships surfacing through it all. The conversations gave us a way to look beyond a simple attendance list.

So we started by finding out who actually made it:

Because there was no complete picture of which European and international companies were already connected to African studios, we began interviewing the African attendees themselves and followed the relationships outward.

That decision shaped everything that came next.

30+ Voices

To map ecosystem relationships from the ground up, we interviewed African attendees and international partners. Click any profile card to expand detailed insights.

All recorded audio/video interviews are available via the project archive repository (Mega).

Collaboration Already Exists

The strongest pattern was not the absence of international connection. It was the variety and fragmentation of the connections already happening.

The connections were not all formed in the same way. Some came through formal partnerships; others through funding, mobility, shared spaces, services, or repeated interaction. The important point was that the dots were already connected. They simply were not always visible as part of the same picture.

From Individual Studios to Shared Platforms

African presence at Gamescom was not limited to individual developers navigating the event on their own. Several countries and regional initiatives created shared spaces through which studios could showcase their work, meet international stakeholders, and make their presence more visible.

Games from Africa, Games from Nigeria, Games from South Africa and Games from Morocco booths provided physical points of contact within the wider Gamescom ecosystem. These spaces let developers demonstrate their work and made it easier for publishers, investors, media, industry organisations and potential partners to discover African games and the people behind them.

Shared presence matters because visibility is often the first step towards connection. A booth can open a conversation, but longer-term value depends on what happens after: who is introduced, what follow-up takes place, and whether the encounter becomes a meaningful relationship.

These national and regional approaches also show that African participation at international events need not follow one model: shared pavilions, country showcases, intermediary organisations and individual studio participation can all contribute to visibility.

The value of an intermediary

Narratify Agency’s participation was not simply about placing games before an international audience. Its role was to create connections around developers and help bridge the distance between African studios and global stakeholders.

An intermediary role adds value because developers do not necessarily need more opportunities simply to display their games. They also need access to people and institutions that can help those games move forward.

The objective, therefore, was not simply to be seen. It was to make the right people see the right games, and to create opportunities for conversations that could continue after Gamescom.

The Network Is Bigger Than the Event

The interviews surfaced individual relationships. The shared spaces revealed collective presence. Together, they point to a network that extends beyond the Gamescom floor.

Gamescom Is a Starting Point

Gamescom is therefore better understood as a starting point: a place where conversations begin, relationships are tested and possibilities become visible.

Connected to the World, Yet Sometimes Disconnected from Africa

Gamescom surfaced a question beyond international visibility: how connected are African games and interactive entertainment ecosystems to one another?

Désiré’s experience is important, but it comes from esports rather than game development specifically. It should not be treated as representative of the entire African games industry. It does, however, raise a useful question about how effectively different parts of Africa’s wider interactive entertainment ecosystem connect.

Gamescom did not provide a definitive answer. It made the question visible enough to warrant further investigation.

More Than Beneficiaries

African creators are participating in international ecosystems in multiple roles.

This reframing matters because the relationships documented here are not only about access to opportunities. They also show African talent contributing skills, ideas, services, partnerships and creative value to the wider industry.

From Presence to Continuity

The recurring lesson was presence creates possibility but, continuity creates familiarity.

One appearance can introduce developers to audiences, publishers, investors, media and partners. Meaningful business relationships often need time, repeated interaction and follow-up.

The next step is not simply to return. It is to return with knowledge of previous relationships, opportunities and conversations requiring follow-up.

The Story Continues After Cologne

The debrief is a starting point for turning observations and conversations into stories, knowledge and continued ecosystem documentation.

From Event Coverage to Living Knowledge

An event ends. The relationships do not. The archive is where the evidence can continue to live and become useful beyond Gamescom.

With Appreciation

The partnerships that made this journey possible

WAI Network's participation at Gamescom 2026 and the documentation that grew from it were made possible through the wider ‘Africa–Europe Partnerships for Culture: Audio-visual’ programme.

I am grateful to the partners whose support created the opportunity to connect with African developers, creators and ecosystem stakeholders, document their experiences, and explore the relationships emerging around Africa’s presence in the global games industry.

Together, this support contributed to creating space for African creative voices to be seen, heard and connected within a wider international ecosystem.

The Story Was Never Mine Alone

This story was shaped through collaboration.

Gamescom brought many people into the same space. This documentation became richer through the perspectives, conversations and connections shared along the way.

Thank you to Oscar Michael and Faith Benson from Africacomicade and Jennifer Lufau and Mickaël Newton from Narratify Agency for being part of the Gamescom 2026 media team alongside Wendi Ndaki of WAI Network. Your perspectives, connections and insights added to the story we began documenting at Gamescom and helped make Africa’s presence there more visible and better understood.

Africacomicade

Narratify Agency

WAI Network

And to everyone who shared their time, stories and perspectives along the way, thank you for helping connect the dots.

WAI Network

Stories that make creative technology feel human.

🌍 Africa ↔ Europe ↔ The World

The dots were already there. Gamescom simply gave us a place to start seeing how they connect.