REVIEW OF VIDEO GAME EXPO NIGERIA 2025

The Video Game Expo Nigeria is an annual conference designed to strengthen the game development ecosystem in Nigeria and across Africa. Every year, it brings together people from different sectors of the gaming industry into one space filled with game showcases, tournaments, keynote sessions, panels, digital art exhibitions, and many more, to share creativity and build community. The 2025 edition embraced the theme “Made in Nigeria”, a bold declaration of pride in the Nigerian creative community. Placing local talent at the center, it celebrated the richness of Nigerian culture through games, gave voices to be heard through storytelling, drove innovation, and still focused on community building.

The theme was reflected beautifully, with uniquely inspired game titles, and tech demos that were deeply rooted in African experiences and Nigerian culture, making the space feel like a living archive of what Nigerian creators can imagine at a global scale.

This year’s expo which ran for four full days and recorded impressive metrics:

• 450+ registered attendees
  
• 26 brands and companies
  
• 9 game studios
  
• 10 industry speakers
  
• 5 major product showcases
  
• ₦800,000 prize pool
  
• 250 tournament registrations across game titles
  
• 64 PUBG Mobile players, 60 CODM, 48 Free Fire, 16 Mortal Kombat, and 64 EAFC competitors
  
• Partnerships with 7 different communities

The Nigerian gaming community is experiencing undeniable growth and Video Games Expo: Made in Nigeria, reflected it clearly. Activities began with the Free Fire and CODM matches. In the Free Fire category, Big Zoe (Uniport) secured first place, followed by Fortune (RSU) in second place and CK Smith (Uniport) in third place.  CODM matches continued into the next day, producing finalists and concluding with Sin of Pride (Uniport) in first place, Sxn (RSU) in second place, and Wunman (RSU) in third place. Additional tournament stages for PUBG Mobile and Mortal Kombat took place on the second day to produce finalists for the grand finale.

On day three, the major highlight was the launch of the Female in Gaming Network (FIGN), an initiative created to increase visibility and participation of girls and women in Nigeria’s gaming ecosystem. There were speakers, fun activities, and the co-founders led an interactive engagement session that educated the young female attendees who were eager to find their space in the industry. This brought fresh excitement to the expo and clearly reflected the rising interest of women in gaming.

The final day felt both creative and unpredictable, with different activities unfolding in ways that kept the entire hall attentive. One of the moments that stood out came from Chidi Light, whose spoken-word performance intertwined African culture into rhythm and emotion. His artistic delivery set a thoughtful tone for the rest of the day, reminding everyone why locally inspired stories matter.

Throughout the event, speakers and creators took turns sharing their work and their journeys. Nimat Asunogie from Africa Comicade held an insightful conversation about the growth of the gaming industry in Africa’s creative technology space. Not long after, Armstrong Chibuzor, founder of Logic Dev, presented Otite, a Nigerian-inspired game that captured the crowd’s attention, it made the reaction in the room shift from curiosity to excitement as he explained how local stories can become fully realized, into interactive experiences and amazing stories.

Sophia Nei, founder of FIGN, delivered a session focused on the wide range of opportunities within the gaming industry and how one can find their own paths, her talk connected smoothly with the panel session that followed, featuring AJ Benny of Nedwork, Armstrong Chibuzor of Logic Dev Studios, and the talented 2D artist, Ngozi Ruby Draws. Their discussion touched on the challenges of building a career in the gaming ecosystem, how each of them started, and the realities of pushing African creativity into global spaces.Several other speakers also brought compelling insights, including Victor Luke from PlayNation, rich-media developer Wisdom Ikoi, senior Eskimi developer Chibuzor Madu, Daniel Don of FxLens, and REDMUR founder Thony Ibegbulem. Each person added a different angle to the conversation, showing just how dynamic the Nigerian gaming landscape is becoming.

Beyond the talks, the hall was filled with a variety of game showcases and tech demos. Studios presented titles at different stages of development, including Warlords by Hammer Games, Danfo Hustle and Beyond Service by Goondu Games, Jaja from Nerdwork, Vodou by Juju Games, Otite from Logic Dev, Unbroken from Raven Illusion, and Rasta Santa from Deluxe Studio. Six Path Studios also participated, adding to the range of experimental work on display. On the comics side, Nerdwork Comics and Toon Central showcased their visuals and storytelling concepts.

The day wrapped up with the tournament finals, bringing the competitive side of the expo to a close. In PUBG Mobile, Vūoodoo, PaulIliya, and Railgun finished as the top three winners. For Mortal Kombat, Solo took first place, followed by SpawnnNN_K!ller and Frizzyht. The EAFC standings saw KayKay in first place, Doom in second, and Solo in third.

Overall, the 2025 Video Game Expo fulfilled its promise of celebrating Nigerian cultural expression and even exceeded it. The event drove conversations and community in a way that highlighted just how rapidly the country’s gaming landscape is evolving. And while this year offered a glimpse of what Nigerian creators are capable of, it also raised an intriguing question: if the ecosystem has grown this much already, what might the next edition reveal about the future of gaming in Nigeria?