Seyi Fakoya Analyzes Forecast: Africa to Have 11% of World's Video Game Players, Under 1% of Spending
The Gamr co-founder calculates forecast spending of about $4.90 per player in Africa in 2026, against about $58 worldwide, and says income may explain much of the gap
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESS Newswire / October 27, 2026 / Gamr, a gaming and esports company focused on Africa, has published an analysis of public market data on Africa's video games economy by its co-founder and chief technology officer, Seyi Fakoya. Using 2026 forecasts from the research firm Newzoo, Fakoya calculates that spending per player in Africa is about one-twelfth of the world average, and says income may explain much of the difference.
The analysis uses Newzoo's 2026 global forecast and the Africa figures that Carry1st, an African games publisher that also runs a payments business and has a commercial interest in the market, published jointly with Newzoo in August 2026. It also uses World Bank and GSMA data and Google's published list of payment methods accepted on Google Play. None of those organizations took part in the analysis or has reviewed or endorsed it. Shares, ratios and per-player figures are Fakoya's calculations from the published numbers. Its main points:
Players and spending. Africa is forecast to have 406 million video game players in 2026, about 11% of the world's total, and $1.98 billion in player spending, according to Carry1st and Newzoo. By Fakoya's calculation, that is under 1% of a global market Newzoo forecasts at $213.9 billion.
Spending per player. Dividing those forecasts gives about $4.90 per player in Africa for the year and about $58 across about 3.7 billion players worldwide. Both are averages across all players, including people who spend nothing, and Newzoo's spending figures leave out advertising revenue.
Income. GDP per person across Africa was about $2,040 in 2025 in current U.S. dollars, by Fakoya's calculation from World Bank data, against a World Bank world average of about $14,406. That is a gap of about 7-to-1, beside a gap of about 12-to-1 in spending per player. The analysis says the comparison does not prove how much of the spending gap income causes.
Payments. Google's help page on payment methods accepted on Google Play had entries for seven African countries as of Oct. 12, 2026. Five listed an option other than a payment card: carrier billing in South Africa, Egypt and Morocco, and mobile-money wallets in Ghana and Kenya. The page shows what Google documents and may not reflect every option offered at checkout.
Devices. At the end of 2025, half of sub-Saharan Africa's mobile internet subscribers were using 3G smartphones or feature phones, according to GSMA's State of Mobile Internet Connectivity 2026 report.
Currency. Nigeria's GDP per person rose about 16% in naira between 2023 and 2024 and fell by about half in U.S. dollars, from $2,139 to $1,084, according to World Bank figures.
"Income likely explains much of the gap. Payment and device constraints may explain part of it. I think that part is worth pursuing, and worth testing as a hypothesis until someone publishes the numbers," Fakoya wrote in the analysis.
Dollar forecasts also move with exchange rates, the analysis notes. "But a market can grow in players and in local currency and still shrink in dollars," Fakoya wrote.
Fakoya reports finding no public data from a publisher or an app store on purchase success rates by payment method and country, or on the share of players who pay before and after a local payment method is introduced. He writes that those figures would help estimate payment friction, although a before-and-after comparison alone would not establish cause.
Disclosures: Fakoya holds equity in Gamr, which could benefit from growth in the market the analysis describes. Gamr was selected in 2022 for the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund in Africa, a program that awarded selected startups non-dilutive cash and Google Cloud credits. Google operates Google Play, and Carry1st lists Google among its investors. The analysis uses no Gamr data. Its 2026 market inputs are third-party forecasts, which may not be realized, and the per-player figures and comparisons are Fakoya's calculations. This release is for information only and is not investment advice. Google Play is a trademark of Google LLC.
About Gamr
Gamr Inc. is a gaming and esports company focused on Africa.
About the author
Seyi Fakoya is a co-founder and the chief technology officer of Gamr.
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SOURCE: GAMR