Hugo Obi, Founder of the Lagos-based Pan-African studio Maliyo Games, joins hosts Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow on this episode of the Pocketgamer.biz Podcast to share how he is driving the growth of Africa’s indie game development sector. While much of the region’s gaming revenue still comes from Western-made titles, Hugo is actively changing that by building a thriving ecosystem of African studios creating games rooted in local culture and folklore. He dives into Maliyo’s major initiatives, including insights from the 2025 Africa Games Industry Report, the GameUp Africa talent accelerator in partnership with Google, and Maliyo’s recent collaboration with Disney on Iwájú: Rising Chef.

Hugo Obi - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hugoobi/?originalSubdomain=ng

Maliyo Games - https://www.maliyo.com/

GameUp Africa - https://gameupafrica.com/

2025 Africa Games Industry - https://africagamesreport.com/

CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro

02:20 - An abnormal start 

04:48 - Telling African stories

10:11 - Popular games in Africa

11:20 - 2025 Africa Games Industry Report

19:22 - Building an industry ecosystem

22:18 - Making Disney Iwaju: Rising Chef

27:08 - Safari City

31:56 - A popular game is a global game

35:10 - Comparing studios to car manufacturers 

37:04 - GameUp Africa

42:24 - Favourite games Q&A