Nigeria’s gaming market to hit $2.5b as expert unveils key growth trends

By Seun Johnson

The Nigerian gaming market is projected to reach 2.5 billion dollars in revenue by 2025 with an expected increase of about 54% in 2029.

This projection was disclosed on Wednesday by Ricardo Lopez, African Lead for Geopoll during his presentation at the Top Trend 2025, a groundbreaking event organized by MediaReachOMD in partnership with Lagos Business School and Geopoll.

With user penetration expected to reach 50%, Lopez identified internet connectivity across the board, increased smartphone adoption, and a growing youth population eager for interactive entertainment as key factors that will drive the growth.

Reflecting on the outcome of a study conducted across the continent to look into the perception towards gaming, the data expert revealed that 58% of Nigerians who were contacted for the study play video games, 92% of the gamers play it on their mobile phones and 65% have made a purchase after seeing an in-game ad.

According to him, gaming in Nigeria is not just a mere entertainment but a sleeping giant industry with a growing influence on marketing and consumer engagement.

In his words, “I think games are really not speaking to the culture of the country. 54% of Nigerian gamers value the cultural relevance in games, but 45%, nearly half feel that these games are not speaking to them.

“They are not creating characters that look like them and come from the same circumstances. So there is a bit of a lack of resonation between the characters and the population.

“So the trend is that gaming in Nigeria is not just an entertainment, but a sleeping giant industry with a growing influence on marketing and consumer engagement.”

While charging marketing and media strategists to find a way of integrating mobile first gaming strategies into the broader marketing campaign, he noted that in-game advertising and product placement can be very impactful.

“I think the high mobile penetration rates and in-game ad response in Nigeria can create quite a lucrative opportunity for brands to leverage in-game advertising to drive conversions and actually be able to track that, as well as brand awareness,” he submitted.

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