British-Ghanaian gaming collective provides protected haven for gamers of variety

ACCRA : A keypad-locked door in Ghana’s capital Accra hid a neon-lit corridor of flickering processors, clicking keyboards and excited voices. The younger crowd erupted as brother beat sister in a tight-fought however good-spirited spherical of Mortal Kombat.

British-Ghanaian gamer Annabel Ashallay-Anthony smiled at her brother Adam, after the match match at a gaming hub organized by Melanin Avid gamers, a collective she hopes will change the online game panorama.

4 years in the past, Ashallay-Anthony and her two brothers established a crew of online game lovers devoted to offering a protected area for on-line players of numerous ethnicities, sexual orientations and gender identities.

Melanin Avid gamers has accrued greater than 4,000 members worldwide since then, and has hosted tournaments sponsored by business giants like Digital Arts and Ubisoft.

After her brother Alan was harassed on-line for the colour of his pores and skin, Ashallay-Anthony made it her mission to construct a group the place individuals might play collectively away from the racism, misogyny and homophobia generally related to on-line video games.

“Why is it all the time like, ‘Oh, somebody’s saying one thing, higher mute your mic’? ‘Flip your digital camera off so nobody is aware of,'” she stated.

“All of this stuff are issues the sufferer has to do due to the bully. So I assumed, why not do away with the bully?”

Lower than 4.5 per cent of the world’s players lived in sub-Saharan Africa final 12 months, market knowledge from Statista confirmed. However cheaper knowledge prices might assist the market develop 12 per cent yearly by means of 2026, in response to analysis agency Mordor Intelligence.

Ghana is without doubt one of the nations main the best way. The West African nation had the continent’s second highest per-capita gaming inhabitants in 2021, with 27 per cent of residents actively enjoying, in response to Esports analytics chief Newzoo.

The nation’s solely two gaming hubs opened prior to now 12 months on the again of this increase in recognition, every serving as match and assembly factors for some Melanin Avid gamers occasions.

Displaying Ghanaians that there are viable profession choices in gaming is as a lot part of the Melanin Avid gamers mission as the rest, British-born Ashallay-Anthony stated.

One member doing simply that’s Ghanaian-Nigerian streamer Ritalucia Henry-Andoh. She makes round $100 monthly streaming and commentating on video video games, and goals to make it her full-time job by the tip of the 12 months.

She hosted her personal match final month, that includes Melanin Avid gamers and others from Ghana and world wide.

“White, black, male, feminine, trans, non-binary – no matter you’re, we’ll settle for you as a result of we’re a crew of accepting people who find themselves discovering extra accepting individuals,” she stated.

“Gaming is for everybody, and I believe we should always do extra to be kinder.”