[imagesource: Unsplash]

For decades, South Africa has been leading the way in gaming on the African continent and, while its fellow nations have also caught the video game bug, ZA still leads the way.

Of course, the market doesn’t stay static, though. It evolves just like it does right across Africa and the rest of the world, though the trends aren’t necessarily always the same. 

After all, in central and eastern African countries like Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, and Cameroon, there is a drive for locally-created content that celebrates traditional African culture. This isn’t as strong in South Africa, with the titles pumped out by North American and European publishers being more in demand. 

That doesn’t mean that what we see in the United States and the United Kingdom is exactly what will happen here, as there are some trends that are unique to South Africa. 

Online Casino Games

Online casinos are popular in many parts of the world, but especially here in ZA. The titles enjoyed by South Africans include traditional table games like blackjack and roulette, and video slots. 

When it comes to these reel-based games, players have a lot of choice as casinos have created options that cater to every possible taste, including those that are interested in history and those that love outer space. 

Just like we see in other parts of the world, where these games have been a big hit, South African players have a preference for high RTP slots. RTP (or Return-to-Player) is a measurement of how much of a player’s bankroll they should expect to have returned to them over a long period of playing. 

It’s expressed as a percentage and measured over hundreds of thousands or millions of spins, so players won’t ever get the exact RTP when they play. However, it provides a rough guide to what you can expect. 

Based on what we can see at present, demand for slot games in South Africa looks like it will continue trending upwards, along with much of the rest of the world, for some time to come.

Image: Unsplash

Virtual Reality Gaming

Virtual reality gaming has been touted as the future of the industry for some time, but it hasn’t become mainstream just yet. 

There are good reasons for this, most notably the fact that the hardware still needs to mature in order to offer the experience that visionary people have been promising to gamers. 

That said, VR gaming in South Africa has been growing at a compound annual growth rate of 52.5% between 2018 and today, and spending on this format is expected to expand further in the coming years. 

The expansion is not just caused by individuals in South Africa buying VR headsets like the Oculus Quest and the PlayStation VR. It’s also driven by virtual reality arcades that let you experience the best hardware and most exciting titles without having to blow a load of cash on a premium headset. 

Instead, players can visit VR arcades like the one that’s been operating in Canal Walk shopping centre in Cape Town since 2019. There, players get their own booth to use for 30 or 60 minutes, with prices starting at just R100, 12 times less than an entry-level headset. 

Mobile Gaming

Mobile games have been one of the fastest-growing categories in South Africa for quite some time. 

According to Digital Turbine, more than 70% of South African adults play games on their smartphones and/or tablets, spending an average of four hours per day on their devices. 

In fact, this mobile gaming is often happening whilst players are also doing other things. For example, 51% of South Africans report that they play mobile games at the same time as they watch TV. That’s more than the number of people that read the news, shop online, or search for additional information about the show they’re watching. 

Growth in the country is helped by the fact that there is an expanding number of local mobile game developers, including Smart Gecko Software, Wild Foot Games, and Distinct Media who, between them, have more than 75 million downloads. 

It’s not only local games that are in demand in South Africa, though. Players look set to continue to download titles from all over the world in increasing numbers for years to come.