Sho, Mzansi. Four of the ten studios picked for Google Play’s first Indie Games Fund in Africa are South African. Clockwork Acorn, Disputed People, Studio Bo and Vetkoek Studios made the cut when Google named the cohort on 28 October 2026.
Short left: the quick version
- Ten studios from Sub-Saharan Africa make up the first cohort. Four are South African, level with Nigeria for the most of any country.
- The studios share a $1 million fund (about R16 million), with no equity taken.
- They also get 1:1 mentorship from Google Play specialists and technical support from Unity.
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What the studios get
When applications opened in July, Google set awards at between $50,000 and $200,000 per studio, roughly R820,000 to R3.3 million. Google hasn’t said how much each selected studio is getting.
The money is non-dilutive, so the studios keep full ownership. On top of the cash, Google says each team gets access to commercial and growth resources, hands-on mentorship from Google Play specialists and tailored technical support from Unity to help their games scale.
This is the selection news following the application round Cinga covered in July, so there’s nothing new to apply for this time.
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Meet the four South African studios
Jetstream
A relaxing puzzle game about guiding planes to their destinations, with 100+ hand-crafted levels and 14 mechanics. It started life as a Ludum Dare game jam entry in 2015 and has been on Steam since 2019.
The Legend of Mitts and the Divine Recipes
A retro-inspired top-down adventure where cooking is your superpower. Each meal you master changes your abilities and helps you solve puzzles in the world of Epicuria.
Idle Sands
A chilled idle game about running a fleet of robot sweepers on a beach: sell the treasure, bin the rubbish, upgrade your bots. It began as a game jam prototype in 2023.
Taxi Ranked
The minibus taxi game that put Mzansi road culture on your phone, now past 500,000 downloads on Google Play.
Google’s list shortens Disputed People’s game to Mitts and the Divine Recipes. Its itch.io page offers a pay-what-you-want Windows build, and the page calls it a demo. Catch up on Vetkoek’s story in our Taxi Ranked feature.
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The rest of the cohort
South Africa and Nigeria each have four studios in the first cohort, with Ghana and Kenya one each. Here’s who joins the Mzansi four:
The other six studios
- Deluxe Entertainment Studios (Nigeria): Rasta Santa
- Fer Factor (Nigeria): Chore Master
- Gazuntype Entertainment (Nigeria): Go North
- Leti Games (Ghana): Sweave
- Maliyo Games (Nigeria): Safari City
- Weza Interactive (Kenya): Riziki
Four studios out of ten is a serious showing. Flight puzzles, cooking quests, beach-cleaning robots and taxi chaos: the range says a lot about where South African game making is right now.
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What to watch next
Google hasn’t announced a showcase or public milestones for the cohort yet. The real proof will come as these games grow, so keep an eye on Google Play for new releases and updates. Thinking of making games yourself? Our 2027 starting points guide is the place to begin.
Back the local four
Play what’s out now and follow the studios as their games grow.
Sources: Google: Indie Games Fund in Africa, meet the selected studios (28 October 2026), Android Developers Blog: fund launch (6 July 2026), Clockwork Acorn Jetstream press kit, Disputed People on itch.io, Studio Bo on itch.io, Vetkoek Studios and Google Play. Rand amounts are approximate and move with the exchange rate. Details checked on 31 October 2026.
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