Exploring the Indie Gaming Scene in South Africa with Kieran Reid:
Exploring Indie Gaming in South Africa with Kieran Reid
The South African gaming industry is steadily evolving, brimming with potential and creative talent despite its fair share of challenges. In a recent podcast, Kieran Reid, co-founder of Two Name Games, and a long time familiar face in the South African indie game scene, offered an insightful exploration of the industry’s landscape. Reid, who has been immersed in game design and academia for over a decade, shared perspectives on indie gaming, local innovation, and offered some paths forward for the region’s developers.
The Indie Gaming Scene | creativity and Challenges
Reid emphasised the vibrant indie gaming culture that characterises South Africa’s development scene. From small studios to collaborative projects, the industry thrives on creativity and resilience. “The spirit of indie games here is deeply rooted in passion and innovation,” Reid explained, noting how events like the original Amaze Fest in 2012 laid the groundwork for today’s robust indie ecosystem.
Despite its growth, sustainability remains a concern for many new studios. Limited access to funding, high marketing costs, and a lack of business infrastructure often hinder scalability. “We have studios with amazing ideas and great mechanics, but they often miss the critical business perspective to push their games into the global market,” Reid noted.
Balancing local and global appeal
One of the biggest tensions in the South African gaming landscape lies in balancing local content with international market demands. Reid highlighted the importance of incorporating African stories and settings into games while ensuring they meet global quality standards. “South African gamers are global players, and they expect the same level of quality they see in international titles,” he said.
Studios like Free Lives, known for hits such as Broforce, have managed to bridge this gap, gaining international acclaim while maintaining ties to their local roots. However, as Reid pointed out, “The challenge is not just creating local content, but making it appealing to international audiences without losing authenticity.”
Government support and community growth
The recent increase in government support is a promising development for South African gaming. Initiatives to provide funding and infrastructure are helping small studios find their footing. Community meetups, like those hosted monthly at the Goethe Institute in Johannesburg, are also fostering collaboration among developers, students, and industry veterans. “These meetups are key,” Reid said, “They bring people together, create opportunities for feedback, and strengthen the sense of community.”
Building on this momentum, the recent Joburg Games Fest of which Reid was a co-organiser, showcased the vibrant community that has emerged in Johannesburg’s gaming scene. Organised as a celebration of local talent, the event brought together developers, gamers, and enthusiasts to share ideas, test creations, and highlight the growing attraction of indie gaming. “It’s not just about the games—it’s about the people behind them,” Reid noted, emphasising the festival’s role in creating a space for collaboration, inspiration, and pride in the industry’s progress. Events like these solidify Johannesburg as a hub for creativity and innovation.
The road ahead
As the South African gaming industry matures, Reid sees immense potential in niche areas such as impact games and playful solutions. His own studio, Two Name Games, focuses on integrating game elements into broader contexts like leadership training and community development. Reid believes this innovative approach can open new markets and redefine how games contribute to society.
While challenges like marketing and audience research remain significant hurdles, Reid is optimistic. “The resilience and creativity of our developers are what set us apart,” he concluded. “With the right support and continued innovation, the South African gaming scene can carve out a sustainable and unique place on the global stage.”
Exploring the Indie Gaming Scene in South Africa with Kieran Reid 
In this episode, we sit down with Kieran Reid, co-founder of Two Name Games, to dive deep into the evolving world of indie game development in South Africa and across Africa. From the challenges of building sustainable studios to the incredible creativity driving local innovation, Kieran shares his insights on what makes the South African gaming industry unique and where it’s headed next.
We explore:
- The rise of indie gaming and its cultural impact
- Balancing local storytelling with global appeal
- Challenges in funding, marketing, and business infrastructure
- The growing role of government support and community meetups
- The potential of playful solutions and impact games
Kieran also reflects on his journey through academia, game design, and the vibrant communities shaping Johannesburg’s gaming scene. Whether you’re a developer, gamer, or just curious about the African gaming landscape, this conversation offers a fascinating glimpse into the future of gaming.
Originally published on the Angle
Lucky Star owner and Woolworths distance themselves from counterfeit pilchards:
Oceana Group, which owns the Lucky Star tinned fish brand, has refuted claims that counterfeit canned pilchards discovered during a police raid in Daleside, Gauteng, last week belong to the company.
In a statement on Tuesday, the group said investigators and third-party experts had confirmed the cans were counterfeit and used an opening mechanism that does not match Lucky Star.
“The labels are counterfeit and we do not use ring-pull lids on our canned pilchards,” it said.
The re-labelled Lucky Star tins were packed in boxes marked “Woolworths Food”.
This is happening amid a nationwide contaminated food crisis, which has seen 890 incidents of food-borne illnesses reported in all provinces since September, with Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal being most affected.
At least 22 children have died.
The Citizen reported that a police raid at a Gauteng factory uncovered counterfeit Lucky Star pilchards cans and printing equipment used to alter expiration dates.
Oceana said that during an onsite inspection evidence, including label printing machines, ring-pull cans and other substances and paraphernalia that are inconsistent with the manufacture of Lucky Star, were found.
The investigations have established that an international manufacturer produced the canned pilchards under the Woolworths’ brand, according to Oceana. Woolworths imported and received them but later rejected the consignment and asked the supplier to collect it.
After collection, some of the consignment appears to have been intercepted and illegally relabelled as Lucky Star and repacked into the Woolworths-labelled cartons.
Over the weekend Woolworths released a statement saying it was aware of the police investigation.
“We have strong reason to believe that the product in question may have formed part of an imported shipment from an international supplier that was rejected by Woolworths, as a result of it failing to meet our stringent quality control standards,” Woolworths said.
The retailer explained that in the event of a product being rejected, it becomes the immediate responsibility of the supplier to collect and responsibly dispose of the stock from the Woolworths warehouse.
“We have launched our own investigation to determine why this process was not adhered to in this instance,” Woolworths said.
On Tuesday, Oceana advised consumers to identify counterfeit goods by checking the label for print clarity and smudging, whether the label is misaligned and not properly stuck to the can and the ink-jetted “best before” date on the end of the can.
National Freedom Party secretary general Teddy Thwala fired — again:
National Freedom Party (NFP) secretary general Teddy Thwala has been fired once more from his position in the latest round of the factional battle that has crippled the organisation since the death of its founder in 2021.
Thwala was dismissed by the NFP national working committee following a disciplinary hearing on Sunday, which was held in his absence, and has been given five days to lodge an appeal against the outcome.
This is the third time that Thwala has been removed from office by the faction in the party led by its president, Ivan Barnes, having twice gone to court this year to force the NFP to reinstate him and other leaders who had been expelled.
His lawyer Thando Mbili said that the disciplinary hearing against Thwala had gone ahead without him and that he had only been informed that it was taking place on Sunday, the day it was held.
The NFP had failed to provide them with information they had requested about the charges against Thwala, along with details of the time and venue for the disciplinary hearing.
“We received a communication from the person who was purportedly appointed to be the chairperson of the hearing that a decision has been taken to expel the secretary general. It was stipulated that he has five days to lodge an appeal but we are not told with whom that appeal should be lodged,” Mbili said.
The decision to expel Thwala had been taken by the NFP national working committee in violation of the party’s constitution, which stipulates that those powers lie at the constituency level, Mbili added.
As a result, his client was preparing to go back to court.
“We are going to be consulting with a view to bring more court proceedings which would declare the decision taken by the NFP disciplinary hearing as a nullity,” Mbili said.
The infighting in the party has raged since before the death of founder Zanele Magwaza-Msibi, who had been incapacitated earlier due to ill health, in September 2021, and brought it to the brink of disbarment from elections by the Electoral Commission of South Africa.
It has the potential to destabilise premier Thami Ntuli’s government of provincial unity in which the NFP plays a key role by virtue of its single seat in the KwaZulu-Natal legislature.
Ntuli’s government, which also involves the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), the ANC and the Democratic Alliance, hold power through this NFP seat.
Any collapse of the party — or a shift away from the IFP-led coalition by its leaders towards the uMkhonto weSizwe party — could result in a hung legislature and a collapse of the government of provincial unity.
Barnes confirmed Thwala’s dismissal and said that he had been expelled for “gross misconduct” and bringing the NFP into disrepute.
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