British-Ghanaian gaming collective offers haven that is safe players of diversity

ACCRA, Sept 8 (Reuters) – a door that is keypad-locked Ghana’s capital Accra hid a neon-lit hall of flickering processors, clicking keyboards and excited voices. The crowd that is young as brother beat sister in a tight-fought but good-spirited round of Mortal Kombat.

British-Ghanaian gamer Annabel Ashallay-Anthony smiled at her brother Adam, after the tournament match at a gaming hub organized by Melanin Gamers, a collective she hopes will change the video game landscape.

Four years ago, Ashallay-Anthony and her two brothers established a crew of video game enthusiasts dedicated to providing a space that is safe online gamers of diverse ethnicities, sexual orientations and gender identities.

Melanin Gamers has accrued more than 4,000 members worldwide since then, and has hosted tournaments sponsored by industry giants like Electronic Arts (EA.O) and Ubisoft (UBIP.PA).

After her brother Alan was harassed online for the color of his skin, Ashallay-Anthony made it her mission to build a community where people could away play together through the racism, misogyny and homophobia sometimes associated with online flash games.

“Why could it be always like, ‘Oh, another person’s saying something, better mute your mic’? ‘Turn your camera off so no body knows,'” she said.

“All of those plain things are things the victim has to do because of the bully. So I thought, why not get rid of the bully?”

Less than 4.5% of the world’s gamers lived in sub-Saharan Africa year that is last market data from Statista showed. But cheaper data costs may help the marketplace grow 12% annually through 2026, in accordance with research firm Mordor Intelligence.

Ghana is amongst the national countries leading the way. The west nation that is african the continent’s second highest per-capita gaming population in 2021, with 27% of citizens participating in, relating to Esports analytics leader Newzoo.

The country’s only two gaming hubs opened into the year that is past the back of this boost in popularity, each serving as tournament and meeting points for some Melanin Gamers events.

Showing Ghanaians that there are viable career options in gaming is as much a part of the Melanin Gamers mission as anything else, British-born Ashallay-Anthony said.

One member doing just that is streamer that is ghanaian-Nigerian Henry-Andoh. She makes around $100 each month streaming and commentating on game titles, and is designed to allow it to be her job that is full-time by end of the year.

She hosted her own tournament month that is last featuring Melanin Gamers as well as others from Ghana and around the globe.

“White, Black, male, female, trans, non-binary – whatever you are, we shall accept you because we’re a crew of accepting people who are finding more accepting people,” she said.

“Gaming is for everyone, and I think we should do more to be kinder.”

Reporting by Cooper Inveen and Francis Kokoroko, Editing by Alexandra Hudson

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