The African youth is full of pride and ambition. They make up 77% of the continent’s population. Orange, as a global network engaged in connecting Africans together, wanted to empower young Africans by giving them the tools to take on the gaming market.

Although Africa is home to the fastest growing gaming market in the world, the continent remains almost invisible in video games. The African youth, proud of their many cultures, are taking matters into their own hands by developing games themselves. Unfortunately, they lack the tools or investment to do so. Orange, the first network and gaming partner of Africa wanted to empower the new generation.

This campaign aimed the whole continent of Africa. Designers and influencers from each region were chosen to represent the many culturally different parts of the continent as accurately as possible. Representation, in the first part, came from the specific and culturally important outfits seen in Africa. To make them visible in video games. Then came the representation of African developers, behind the game itself.

The project was inspired by the fact that today, Africa is not represented in the world of video games, even though there are about 87 million gamers on the continent.

This was further confirmed through qualitative research with African influencer gamers like Queen Arrow, a highly influential Kenyan female gamer. She expressed her frustration of this non-representation of Africans in the gaming world by saying “Each time I step into a game, I feel like I’m taking a trip to Europe or the States!”

In Africa, many cultures are represented by apparel: To empower it, you first need to make it visible.

The Cultural Avatars is a collection of assets and initiatives representing African cultures made thanks to young local talents. The first gaming skins collection was introduced live on the runway, in one of the continents biggest gaming events. The 3D models were then shared on open source for big and small editors to use freely. A Game Jam was then organized to help independent African editors create games using the Cultural Avatars and inspired by African stories.

We called on local African designers to make a series of assets inspired by African cultures from different parts of the continent. Once the mods were integrated in the games, a reveal video and a special designer focused video was released for the Orange Esport Experience event in Abidjan. They were presented on a runway during the competition. A game jam was also organized for independent developers to create games based on African stories with the campaign’s assets.