Maliyo Games
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersLagos, Nigeria
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
Maliyo Games firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Maliyo Games
- Legal name
- Games Laboratories Ltd.
- Website
- https://maliyo.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Maliyo Games industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Casual Mobile Games
- NAICS
- All Other Amusement and Recreation Industries (71399)
- SIC
- Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Casual/Hypercasual Game Studios (MPAFAAAG)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Mobile Game Publishing & App Game Stores (BPAMAKAB)
Keywords
Where Maliyo Games is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Lagos
- HQ country
- Nigeria
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices1 record
Markets served
Maliyo Games business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Mobile Game Monetization (Freemium): Free-to-play mobile games with in-app purchases for virtual currency, power-ups, and cosmetic items. Games include Safari City, Crazy Ludo, Whot King, and Disney Iwájú Rising Chef, distributed on iOS and Android platforms
- In-App Advertising: Advertising revenue from rewarded video ads, in-game advertisements, and promotional content within mobile games. African mobile gaming monetization relies heavily on advertising as primary revenue model
- Industry Research & Reports: Revenue from publishing the Africa Games Industry Report in collaboration with KPMG, and the Esports Nigeria Report, providing market insights to studios, investors, and industry players
- Conference Revenue: MaliyoCON generates revenue through paid ticket tiers including Fast Track, Investor Pass, VVIP Pass, and Supporter Pass, while offering free general admission
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free-to-play mobile games with optional in-app purchases |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Multi-year contract | MaliyoCON ticket tiers |
| Other | Annual | Junior Internship - Free program for children aged 10-14 |
| Other | Annual | Regular Internship (Feb-May 2026) - Free remote internship |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels9 records
Maliyo Games product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Maliyo Games designs, develops, and publishes free-to-play casual mobile games featuring African cultural themes and stories, distributed globally on iOS and Android. Its portfolio includes the Safari City match-3 puzzle game, Crazy Ludo multiplayer board game, Whot King card game, the Disney Iwájú Rising Chef cooking simulation (co-developed with Disney Games), Mama Atingi Shop business simulation, and Aboki Run endless runner, monetized via in-app purchases and advertising.
Product overview
Maliyo Games is a Lagos-based mobile game development studio founded in 2012, with over 40 games in its portfolio. The company's product portfolio centers on a core set of mobile games — Safari City (match-3 puzzle/renovation), Crazy Ludo (board game), Disney Iwájú Rising Chef (cooking simulation), Whot King (card game), Mama Atingi Shop (business simulation), and Aboki Run (endless runner) — supplemented by an ecosystem of talent development and industry infrastructure programs including GameUp Africa (developer training), the Maliyo Creator Academy (content creator accelerator), the Africa Games Industry Report (research publication with KPMG), MaliyoCON (annual mobile games conference), and a Junior Internship Programme (game education for children aged 10–14). The company also produces an animation series called Maliyo Stories to extend its IP across formats. The products share a unifying theme of African cultural storytelling and are distributed to mobile audiences across Africa and globally.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- GameUp Africa: Maliyo's flagship immersive training programme for emerging game developers, launched in 2021 with over 6,000 aspiring African game developers trained.
- MaliyoCON
- Safari City
- Crazy Ludo
- Whot King
- Disney Iwájú: Rising Chef
- Mama Atingi Shop
- Aboki Run
- Maliyo Creator Academy
Quantifiable outcome
- Safari City: Most Impactful Mobile Game at Games Industry Africa Awards 2025
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Maliyo Games
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Maliyo Games technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Maliyo Games partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
15 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- SYBOflagshipSYBO (studio behind Subway Surfers with 4.5 billion lifetime downloads and 150+ employees across 30 nationalities) participated in MaliyoCON 2025. CEO Mathias Gredal Nørvig delivered keynote on building global hits and sustaining creative vision.
- SupercellflagshipSupercell participated in MaliyoCON 2025. Deborah Mensah-Bonsu announced an upcoming developer grants initiative launching in 2026 with funding ranging from $20,000 to $200,000 for African studios.
- EndlesscoreEndless participated in MaliyoCON 2025 as a partner and speaker. Stephen Drolet represented the company at the conference focused on games and learning.
- ThreadbarecoreThreadbare led a session on Game-Based Learning at MaliyoCON 2025, demonstrating how games can extend beyond entertainment to education. Their free RPG built with Godot has 11,000+ learners across 13 countries.
- Arizona State University (ASU)coreArizona State University participated in MaliyoCON 2025 with Bola Akinrolabu exploring how learning, play, and production intersect through the Endless Games and Learning Lab philosophy.
- MTN NigeriacoreMTN Nigeria participated in MaliyoCON 2025 with A'isha Umar Mumuni (Chief Digital Officer) framing African gaming as entering a new phase defined by clarity, ownership, and collaboration.
- French Embassy NigeriacoreFrench Embassy Nigeria sponsored MaliyoCON 2025. Christophe Pecot (Cultural Attaché) delivered remarks on cultural collaboration importance at the conference.
- KPMGcoreMaliyo Games collaborated with KPMG to publish the Africa Games Industry Report 2025, the continent's most comprehensive report on the gaming industry including market sizing, revenue projections, studio landscape mapping, and developer sentiment data.
- Supercell (Games First Helsinki)flagshipMaliyo Games participated in Supercell's Games First Helsinki event at Cable Factory in Helsinki, Finland. The event brought together developers, creators, publishers, investors, and industry leaders for discussions on AI in game development, creative sustainability, and global collaboration.
- Disney GamesflagshipMaliyo Games collaborated with Disney Games and Kugali to conceptualize, design, and develop Rising Chef, a cooking simulation game tie-in for the Disney+ Iwájú animation series. This is a major co-development partnership for a premium global IP.
- GooglecoreGoogle featured Maliyo Games in their global #WeArePlay campaign, spotlighting African developers turning local creativity into globally played games. Google provides platform support and marketing visibility.
- ApplecoreApple featured Maliyo Games titles in App Store editorial collections for Africa Day and Nigeria Independence Day, providing editorial visibility to millions of global players.
- Sterling BankminorSterling Bank listed as collaborator/partner on Maliyo website, supporting African gaming ecosystem development.
- GIZminorGIZ (German development agency) listed as collaborator/partner supporting African gaming industry initiatives.
- FMACCEminorFMACCE (French Ministry for Culture/Affaires Étrangères) listed as collaborator/partner for MaliyoCON 2025.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Maliyo Games competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Kugali: Pan-African storytelling studio that collaborated with Maliyo Games on the Disney Iwájú Rising Chef project. Operates at the intersection of African animation, comics, and interactive media, making it the closest direct peer in terms of African cultural IP for digital formats.
- Gamsole: Nigerian mobile game studio historically known for Africa-themed mobile titles (e.g., Africa Safari). Direct head-to-head peer in African casual mobile gaming with similar target audience and freemium model.
- Leti Arts: Ghanaian game and digital media studio focused on African-themed games rooted in local folklore and history. Comparable in cultural-authenticity positioning and educational/entertainment crossover.
- Chopup: Nigerian game development studio building casual mobile games for African audiences. Direct regional peer competing for the same mobile gamer segment and developer talent in West Africa.
- Nyamakop: South African independent game studio developing narrative-led titles with African settings and characters. Comparable as an African indie studio building globally distributed premium-leaning IP.
- Usiku Games: Kenyan game studio building educational and entertainment games for African youth. Comparable target audience (African mobile gamers, education crossover) and similar developer-led cultural narrative positioning.
Broad incumbents
- SYBO: Danish studio behind Subway Surfers (4.5B+ lifetime downloads) and a keynoter at MaliyoCON. Broad incumbent in casual mobile games now visibly engaging African developers and content, representing both a global competitor and ecosystem partner.
- Supercell: Global casual mobile gaming leader (Clash of Clans, Hay Day) that participated in MaliyoCON 2025 and announced a 2026 African developer grants program ($20K–$200K). Broad incumbent now channeling capital into the African ecosystem Maliyo helped catalyze.
- Playrix: Global casual mobile game publisher behind Homescapes and Township — directly comparable to Maliyo's Safari City match-3/renovation mechanic and African-themed simulation games. Sets the benchmark for casual mobile game monetization Maliyo is competing against.
- Voodoo: World-leading hypercasual mobile game publisher with massive global UA infrastructure. Relevant peer for understanding the competition Maliyo faces for casual mobile gamer attention and ad-inventory dollars in Africa and the diaspora.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Maliyo Games social profiles
Digital presenceMaliyo Games financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Maliyo Games leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Maliyo Games funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Maliyo Games M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Maliyo Games
What does Maliyo Games do?
Maliyo Games designs, develops, and publishes free-to-play casual mobile games featuring African cultural themes and stories, distributed globally on iOS and Android. Its portfolio includes the Safari City match-3 puzzle game, Crazy Ludo multiplayer board game, Whot King card game, the Disney Iwájú Rising Chef cooking simulation (co-developed with Disney Games), Mama Atingi Shop business simulation, and Aboki Run endless runner, monetized via in-app purchases and advertising.
Is Maliyo Games a public or private company?
Maliyo Games is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Maliyo Games founded?
Maliyo Games was founded in 2012. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Maliyo Games based?
Maliyo Games is headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, in the Africa region.
How does Maliyo Games make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Mobile Game Monetization (Freemium) is the primary driver. The others are in-App Advertising, industry Research & Reports and conference Revenue.
Who are Maliyo Games's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Kugali, Gamsole, Leti Arts, Chopup, Nyamakop and Usiku Games. Broad incumbents are SYBO, Supercell, Playrix and Voodoo.
Does Maliyo Games have an API?
No public API is recorded for Maliyo Games.
What industry is Maliyo Games in?
Maliyo Games's product category is Casual Mobile Games. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAFAAAG, Casual/Hypercasual Game Studios, with a secondary code of BPAMAKAB, Mobile Game Publishing & App Game Stores. Its NAICS code is 71399 and its SIC code is 7990.