In a landmark moment for African game development, Maliyo Games, a Pan-African game studio, has gained global recognition with three of its titles featured in Apple Inc.’s Africa Day App Store celebration. This significant milestone underscores the studio’s growing influence in shaping culturally relevant gaming experiences from the African continent.
Apple’s annual editorial series, which celebrates African innovation across apps, games, music, and film, selected Maliyo Games’ Crazy Ludo, Safari City, and Whot King to be spotlighted with exclusive Africa Day-themed updates. The updates, created by local talent trained through Maliyo’s GameUp Africa initiative, were made available on May 21, 2025, on both the App Store and Google Play.
“This recognition from Apple is a huge moment for us and for African game development as a whole,” said Hugo Obi, Founder of Maliyo Games. “It validates the years of hard work by our amazing team across the continent. We’re proud to tell African stories through our games, built by African developers, for a global audience.”
Each of the selected games brings African culture, artistry, and storytelling to the forefront. Crazy Ludo, a reimagined version of the timeless board game, now features African-inspired power-ups, dynamic daily missions, and exclusive Africa Day tournaments, with new in-game art inspired by traditional African design motifs.
Safari City, a match-3 puzzle game combined with city-building elements, lets players construct African neighborhoods, featuring updated character stories such as Mama Gold and architecture inspired by African landmarks.
Whot King, Maliyo’s digital take on the popular Nigerian card game, introduces an Africa Day Challenge with a multi-city tournament where players compete using heritage-inspired card decks across iconic African locations.
Founded in Lagos in 2012, Maliyo Games has become a cultural ambassador for African gaming. Obi expressed pride in the company’s inclusion in Apple’s Africa Day App Store feature, highlighting the recognition of Africa’s mobile-first gaming future and the creative potential of African talent.
“At the heart of this growth is GameUp Africa, our developer training program launched in 2021. With over 6,000 applicants to date, GameUp Africa has become a vital pipeline for nurturing young African developers, many of whom worked on the featured games and our collaboration with Disney on Iwájú: Rising Chef,” Obi explained.
Maliyo’s inclusion in Apple’s Africa Day feature follows the rising global interest in African gaming, supported by a recent KPMG report revealing that Africa’s gaming industry generated over $1 billion in revenue last year, solidifying its role in the continent’s creative economy.
“The future of gaming is diverse, inclusive, and global, and Africa is a big part of that story,” Obi concluded. “We’re building games that reflect our culture, our stories, and our people. This is just the beginning.”
