If you thought gaming in Kenya was still a “kids and PlayStations in the estate” situation, think again. On September 13th and 14th, Charter Hall in Nairobi looked less like a community venue and more like the ePremier League. Hundreds of young people streamed in to watch pro players go head-to-head at the first-ever PUBG Mobile Africa Cup finals held on Kenyan soil.
Sixteen elite teams flew in from across the continent, three from Kenya, to fight for an $8,000 (about KES 1 million) prize pool. South Africa’s X Force Rejects lifted the trophy. But for Kenyan gamer Bay Luahl, the moment was less about losing and more about realising just how close and how far Kenya is from competing at the highest level.
“They’re not better than us. It’s just that they had better equipment than us before… We don’t have the support they have in their countries,” Bay said.
Bay’s point? Kenya doesn’t lack talent, just tools, opportunities, and regular competition. And it’s not just him saying it. Fellow player Ridhwan Mohamed added: “There are no tournaments hosted in Kenya… Teams from Mauritius have played many LAN tournaments so they have the experience and the pressure. Kenyan teams are inexperienced.”
That inexperience isn’t for lack of interest. It’s the result of limited training arenas, few prize-backed competitions, and piecemeal support from the local industry. Imagine training for the Champions League but only ever playing with your cousins in the sitting room. That’s the vibe.
Watch their take here:
5G, 60ms, and the “first time in Kenya” moment
One thing the tournament got right? Internet. All 12 matches ran on Safaricom’s 5G, and you could feel the difference. “If you’re playing on 5G, it has better ping and MS compared to 4G and 3G,” Ridhwan explained.
For Bay, the experience was borderline historic. “This is literally the first day I’m playing with 60 MS in Kenya. Crazy.” For context, milliseconds win or lose you games at that level. And when you’re competing with teams whose training rooms look like NASA labs, every lag spike is a bullet to your chances.
And yet, despite the challenges, tournaments continue to bubble up. In August this year, Kenya hosted the Otamatsuri Gaming Convention at KICC, Safaricom has hosted the African Gaming Conference, and Infinix even backed the Kenya leg of the PUBG Mobile tournament, which shows the support the local gaming industry has from some of the biggest brands.
These aren’t random. They’re signs of a community that’s outgrown the stereotype of “kids in a PlayStation den.”
Online gaming changed everything
If COVID gave us banana bread, Zoom fatigue and TikTok dances, it also quietly fueled the rise of online gaming in the region. “Online gaming has grown in popularity and it started during Covid,” says gamer Brian Dianga. “People couldn’t move, so they played online or watched streamers.”
And it’s no longer locked behind a console or a gaming rig. A smartphone like the Infinix GT 30 Pro + data bundle is all you need to play FIFA, Call of Duty, Free Fire, or PUBG against real people. Game devs and industry insiders have clocked this shift too. Evans Kiragu, founder of Mekan Games, says that “with the current age we’re living in, we crave not just connecting in person… we are now going global. It was only a matter of time before gaming followed.”
That accessibility is why publishers like Carry1st are investing across the region. It’s why Xbox Game Camp Africa is back with a 12-week studio program. And it’s why Kenyan gamers are now more than just “players”. They’re content creators, streamers, developers, and tournament winners.
Watch more on why online gaming is blowing up:
Servers, streaming, and the latency problem
Even with progress, infrastructure still decides who wins. James Ahere, co-founder at Weza Interactive, breaks it down: “In Africa we do have some servers — PUBG has servers in Nigeria and South Africa. But for major titles like Call of Duty or Fortnite, most servers are still outside the continent. That’s why latency is higher here.”
Translation? Even if your phone is sweating at 120fps and your internet is blessed by fibre angels, you’re still fighting physics. Still, cloud gaming, mobile-first esports, and cheaper devices are keeping more players in the arena. Phones like the aforementioned Infinix GT 30 Pro are marketed as gaming smartphones because that’s exactly who they’re selling to.
So what do Kenyan gamers actually want?
From the tournament floor to the living room, the wish list is clear:
- More tournaments — not once-a-year LANs
- Consistent prize pools to make competition sustainable
- Training facilities and better devices
- Reliable, high-speed internet with lower ping
- Local servers and proper event production
- Sponsors who see players as athletes, not lucky hobbyists
And there’s money to be made.
Steve Ochiel, Digital Content Platform Lead at Safaricom, puts it plainly: “There are people making a living from gaming content. Look at Twitch — creators can earn a living from it. Gaming is not just entertainment, it’s a viable career path for our youth.”
Kenya doesn’t have a gaming problem. It has a gaming momentum problem. The passion is there. The talent is unmistakable. The audience is plugged in. The pieces are on the board. But the coordination just hasn’t caught up.
The PUBG Mobile Africa Cup finals were proof of two things: Kenyan gamers can show up and that they just need the industry to show up too. And if this is what the scene looks like before proper infrastructure, imagine what happens when the prize pools get bigger, the sponsors get braver, and the internet keeps behaving like it did at Charter Hall.
Until then? Kenyan gamers aren’t playing small. They’re just waiting for everyone else to catch up.
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