In 2023, Nigeria accounted for the highest spend ($229.7m) on gaming in Africa, followed by Egypt ($212.6m). Interestingly, Egypt led Africa with 20.2m gamers followed by Nigeria with 14.7m.
Interestingly, they're not just spending millions of dollars to have fun; some Nigerians make a living from gaming, something that would probably have been considered impossible some years ago.
KingPlays, Odun Wire, MalayYT, KingofDeath, OBM, and Kingnee are just some of the Nigerians who fall into this category. These players compete in well-paying Call of Duty Mobile (CODM) tournaments.
The biggest one they've participated in is a $10,000 tournament hosted by Ireland CODM pro player, iFerg. None of them won the tournament, but their participation and recognition was important for their reputation as elite gamers.
It is a big deal because it signifies growth in the Nigerian gaming community. This is because eSports used to be considered almost non-existent in Nigeria, but there might be some hope in the form of gaming content creators.
These creators are fuelling interest in gaming through social media, which is also a major source of income for them.
One of the creators, KingPlays, told Techpoint Africa that he made over ₦4 million this year with his TikTok page which boasts 222,000 followers.
This impressive following was one of the reasons he was among the creators chosen to play in the $10,000 CODM tournament.
Which other players got a shot to at winning thousands of dollars playing CODM?
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Nigerians who played in the $10,000 CODM tournament
The Nigerian players who participated in the competition refer to themselves as pro players, but they've mixed their gaming prowess with their content creation skills. A player like KingPlays believes more in telling stories as a gamer than creating only gameplay videos.
This means the creators aren't necessarily eSports players as eSports players only compete in organised competitive gaming at a professional level. However, with the right skill level, they can participate at pro levels too.
The $10,000 tournament falls into the category of organised competitive gaming at a professional level; here are the players who had a go at it.
MalayYT
With 68,800 followers on TikTok, MalayYT is one of the biggest CODM creators in Nigeria. His team was said to be the best-performing Nigerian team in the tournament.
One of the most notable moments for MalayYT in the tournament was when he killed Narco, a top Russian CODM player.
OBM
OBM has the smallest following on the list, 26,000 followers, but his rise has been quite remarkable given that he became a CODM creator in 2023. Before that, he played a first-person shooter game called Apex Legends.
In one of his highlight videos from the tournament, he was 21st out of 100 players.
Kingnee
According to Kingnee's TikTok profile, he is the top gaming streamer in Africa and has gotten the top ranking for gaming on TikTok seven times. However, this wasn't enough to win the $10,000 tournament.
In one of his highlight videos, he ranked 26th and died from a sniper shot he didn't see coming.
But his CODM prowess has earned him a good number of followers and hundreds of people during live streams. He is also known for giving tips and tricks to help aspiring pro players improve.
Odun Wire
Odun Wire is one of the earliest Nigerian CODM creators. Known for his music style content, he has grown as a creator and professional player over the years.
Odun Wire is also one of the most followed CODM creators on TikTok with 619,000 followers. He was touted as the best Nigerian performer in the $10,000 tournament, managing to kill Lotex, one of the best players in the world.
Odunwire's popularity has also put him in the middle of controversies in the CODM community. His biggest opposition, Manja Lee, who won TikTok's gaming content creator of the year in Africa, has criticised Odun Wire's content style, saying it is too toxic.
Interestingly, toxicity is probably one of the biggest selling points for creators, as it makes the game more exciting and humorous.
Odun Wire often dismisses Manja Lee's arguments and has crowned himself the "biggest in Africa."
KingofDeath
When it comes to toxicity, KingofDeath, aka "KoD", is probably a king in that regard, and it has led to his rapid rise. He has 108,000 followers on TikTok and hundreds of people when he streams.
KoD's content is more humorous than it is about gaming. It focuses on what he says and how he says it. While it might be funny to some, but offensive to others. This falls right in the category of what Manja Lee describes as toxic when he spoke with Techpoint Africa in April 2024.
KingPlays
Speaking with Techpoint Africa, KingPlays — Olutayo Mayorkun — started playing CODM as a creator in late 2022. Even after losing his accounts six times (one at 80,000 followers), KingPlays is one of the biggest CODM creators in Nigeria with 222,000 followers.
Interestingly, he doesn't consider himself a pro player even though he was 10th place at some point in the tournament.
KingsPlay said he focuses more on storytelling rather than gameplay videos. He has created CODM content that feel like movies with a storyline and main character.
Like everyone on the list, KingPlays sees the CODM community growing even larger, and when the time for a $1 million tournament comes, Nigerians will be well represented.
