Microsoft will bring its Xbox Game Studios conference to the African continent in 2023. Game Camp Africa will take place over two days from 15-16 July 2023, bringing together and celebrating game creators across 50 countries and regions.

Xbox Game Camp Africa

The two-day event will host four in-person events in Cairo, Johannesburg, Lagos and Nairobi and is open to individuals who live in Africa that study or work part/full time in the following fields: software development, visual arts, 3D, music and audio, web design, narrative design, or professional project management. Applications are open today via the Xbox website.

Game Camp is now in its second year and fifth event, the program aims to empower creators across the world to realise their potential in the gaming industry through unique learning experiences from industry leaders, says Microsoft. It is both an in-person and virtual event through Microsoft Teams.

The event in Johannesburg, Cairo, Lagos and Nairobi will offer viewing parties, on-site panel sessions and opportunities to meet with Microsoft and Xbox personnel, however, virtual attendees can look forward to presentations, panels, and workshops.

Phil Spencer, CEO, Gaming at Microsoft says: At Xbox, we’re on a mission to bring the joy and community of gaming to the world’s 3 billion gamers and we recognise that Africa is home to the largest population of youth in the world, many who love to play.

“In 2019 I attended the opening of our Africa Development Centre and met with tech leaders, educators, and developers from across the region to understand their vision for the future of game creation. Through the inaugural Xbox Game Studios Camp Africa, in collaboration with Microsoft’s Africa Transformation Office, we have an opportunity to continue to deepen our relationships with talented developers in region and help African games studios realise their vision and role in the global gaming industry,” says Spencer.

Microsoft says it wants to enable African game developers and creators to build faster through access to tools and resources, and to help their games be discovered by players in Africa and around the world.

Wael Elkabbany, strategic initiatives lead for Microsoft CEMA: “We want to grow strong roots in this significant market for gaming and game development. The ATO and Xbox personnel will also combine efforts to identify game studios to invest in through our Startups acceleration programme and venture capital investment partners.”

According to the media release, the Xbox team and external partners will facilitate workshops on various game development topics, under the theme “The Journey of a Game”, which will offer multiple perspectives on the many times complex craft of game development. Additionally, it said, there will be significant online learning components to the camp, which will allow participants to engage with focused training modules on topics that align closely with their skills and interests, before and after the event.

More info and applications can be found here.