I still find it shocking that Nigerians spent over $200 million on mobile gaming in 2023. It is still surreal that gaming in Nigeria has grown to such a level.
This is why it is not surprising that some gaming content creators who participated in a $10,000 Call of Duty Mobile (CODM) tournament revealed that they make a lot of money being gamers in Nigeria.
Interestingly, $10,000 is little compared to what gamers can earn from tournaments. Omniverse Africa, which organises gaming events in Nigeria recently partnered with Ultimate Endgamers League (UEL), Unanimous Games, and Evolution eSports to allow Nigerian gamers to participate in gaming tournaments with a prize pool of $1 million.
However, many Nigerian gamers do not have the funds to access an opportunity like this. This is because they need to be physically present at the tournament.
Speaking with Techpoint Africa, Charles Emembolu, Co-convener of Omniverse Africa said it is a sad situation, especially given how talented some Nigerian gamers are. Now Omniverse Africa is looking for another partnership that will cover these gamers' flight and accommodation costs.
But so far, they have found none.
Interestingly, some players even face similar problems when it comes to local tournaments. "There are brilliant guys in places as far as Jos, but they can't even book a flight down to Lagos for a tournament."
This goes to show that eSports in Nigeria is still in its very early stages. Countries with developed eSports industry like the US, serve as a benchmark of how far behind we are and what is possible.
Where Nigerian players cannot afford flight tickets to compete in tournaments, some US eSports players earn as much as $410,000 a year according to Hal Biagas, former Executive Director of the LCS Players Association.
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In 2020, a League of Legends player known as Perkz signed a contract where he'd earn $2 million per year for three years in an eSports team called Cloud9. Another player referred to as Jensen signed a $4.2 million salary deal for two years, while the wildest is a $6 million deal.
Emembolu believes Nigeria and even Africa at large can get to this stage, but there's a need for investment in the space. This is why Omniverse Africa is not just creating an opportunity for gamers in Nigeria, but even game creators.
According to Emembolu, five-game publishers will be going global through the tournament. This is because part of the partnership deal is that Nigerian games will be played as part of the tournament.
This is a great way for Nigerian game publishers to get international recognition, a massive plus for the budding gaming industry.
Creators are doing the work
For eSports to grow in Nigeria, there is a need to understand that gaming is going beyond a means of entertainment, but a means of revenue generation, and interestingly, gaming content creators have been doing this.
These creators have inspired others to either become creators or pro-players who compete in local tournaments.
From $200 to $10,000 these tournaments are gradually changing the gaming scene, giving Nigerian players some international recognition. The creators who facilitated these tournaments are also directly responsible for getting Activision to launch a dedicated CODM server in Nigeria.
These achievements are small when placed side by side with developed eSports industries, but they are progress nonetheless, and hopefully, African players will compete on the global stage without worrying about travel costs.