South Africa’s esports scene is levelling up, from casual hobby to serious business, with prize pools, sponsorships, and professional contracts turning gamers into earners. It is opening new career pathways and reshaping how young people interact with digital innovation and competitive play.
Esports is the structured, competitive side of video gaming, where players, individuals or teams, face off in professional tournaments and leagues. They compete for prizes, and recognition while fans watch and cheer them on, either online or at live events, just like in traditional sports. Structured leagues, tournaments, and ranking systems organise esports players. Professional players may have coaches, analysts, and dedicated training schedules, much like conventional athletes.
“Today, esports is not only about playing games,” said Jaco Sauer, co-founder and general manager at RGB Gaming, an esports management and development company. “It is an all-encompassing programme that gives players exposure to everything from tournaments and hackathons to game design and business development.”
As South Africa positions itself within the global digital economy, esports is becoming a gateway for youth participation in technology-driven industries. Beyond the prize money and tournaments, it is nurturing a new generation fluent in coding, data analytics, content creation, and entrepreneurship. The country’s expanding esports ecosystem is also catalysing innovation in streaming and marketing, proving that gaming can be both an economic accelerator and a tool for digital inclusion.
Largest esports market on the continent
South Africa’s esports market was valued at about $14.3 million in 2020. Since then, it has surged and is expected to reach approximately $29 million in revenue in 2025, with projections as high as $44.1 million by 2030. The revenue combines sponsorships, prize pools, advertising, media rights, and merchandise among others. The market has also experienced annual growth rates of 18.7% to 24%, driven by higher sponsorships, digital engagement, and mobile access.
Sauer noted that esports betting has emerged as a significant driver in South Africa and globally. With the rise of professional gaming tournaments and increased viewer engagement, fans are placing real-money wagers on match outcomes, player performances, and in-game events.
PwC’s Africa Entertainment and Media Outlook 2025–2029 report shows that South Africa is Africa’s largest esports market, supported by local tournaments, campus leagues, and community-led gaming hubs. Organisations like Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA) and the Confederation of African Esports (CAES) are helping local gamers across mobile, desktop, and console platforms rise through global ranks. Also, private tertiary institutions like Eduvos are investing heavily in esports, not only as a sport but as a learning platform that blends teamwork, digital literacy, and critical thinking.
Eduvos launched its campus-wide esports programme in 2023, driven by the belief that gaming builds transferable skills that matter in the workplace. The university has rolled out esports across all 12 campuses, with over 300 gamers, and partnerships with eight high schools.
“Esports has been a big push for us since last year,” says Tony Matchaba-Hove, Eduvo’s Bedfordview Campus general manager. “The link between education and gaming is what is driving us, the need to create future-ready graduates. Too often, students leave university with knowledge that is not easily transferable to the working world. Gaming helps us close that gap.”
Ruben dos Santos Pires, a third-year student in software engineering, has been part of Eduvo’s esports community for two years. He competes in Overwatch and Apex Legends and has won several tournaments. He says gaming has helped him manage stress and stay focused.
“The competitiveness of esports is what keeps me going,” he says. “It’s friendly, but I also get creative ideas from the games, and there are prizes, tournaments, and a sense of achievement.”
“Students are not just gaming for entertainment; they are integrating competitive play, digital learning, and tech-focused extracurriculars as part of their academic growth. “It’s a tool for wellness, teamwork, and even career preparation,” Tian van der Merwe, an information technology lecturer at Eduvos, adds.
Following the esports money
South Africa is home to some of Africa’s biggest esports competitive teams, including ATK, Bravado Gaming, and Goliath Gaming. In 2020, Cloud9 signed a South African duo to play Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), putting local talent on the global stage.
Globally, esports is now a multi-billion-dollar industry. Some of the world’s top players, like Denmark’s Johan “N0tail” Sundstein, who has earned over $7 million from 130 tournaments, rival traditional athletes in earnings.
South Africa’s numbers are smaller but rising. A total of 846 South African esports players have collectively earned over $2 million in prize money across 648 tournaments, according to Esports Earnings, a site that monitors esports earnings for gamers around the world. The site shows that the most lucrative title is CS:GO accounting for over $1 million in winnings, 43% of all earnings by South African competitors. Among them, Ioannis “JT” Theodosiou stands as the country’s top-earning player, with total winnings of over $250 000, of which nearly $170 000 or 67%, comes from competing in CS: GO
Banking on gaming
South Africa’s big corporations are getting into esports. Nedbank, through its YouthX initiative, has partnered with Goliath Gaming, one of South Africa’s leading teams, to create opportunities for aspiring esports players. Telecoms like MTN, Vodacom, and Telkom are also backing tournaments, building digital arenas, and sponsoring leagues. During these esports tournaments, young gamers often receive professional training while they compete for cash prizes.
In 2025, Comic Con Africa featured a total prize pool of more than R600,000 ($34 722) for its major esports tournaments, including Telkom VS Gaming’s High School Esports League and CS2 Masters.
Gender balance
The gender balance in South African esports has been gradually shifting, with notable efforts and recent milestones aimed at increasing female participation and visibility in the industry.
Major events like the 2024 Mzansi Esports Champions, held at Johannesburg’s rAge Expo, have placed African women esports players in the spotlight, with South African player Zahraa Khan (“Iron-Fist”) winning the championship against competitors from eight Southern African countries. MSSA federation has implemented policies to strive for gender equality in national squads, aiming for about 50% female representation in team selections where possible.
“We are seeing a massive increase in female gamers,” Sauer said. “Traditionally, esports was very male-dominated, but over the last two years, we have seen more women entering the space. Esports is one of the few sports that allows inclusivity across all levels, gender, age, background; it makes no difference,”
Popular games
The most popular genres remain first-person and third-person shooters (FPS/TPS), with CS:GO and PUBG MOBILE leading in both participation and revenue.
At Eduvos, students can participate in free inter-campus leagues that they organise themselves. But through partnership with RGB, they can also access a full catalogue of competitive games for a minimal subscription of R600 ($35) per block, or a R2400 ($140) annually, giving them access to everything, from Apex Legends to Valorant. That subscription also unlocks entry into Africa’s largest inter-campus esports league, as well as pathways to national competitions like Comic Con Africa and Rage.
As esports cements its place in South Africa’s digital economy, the next phase of growth will depend on investment in infrastructure, local content creation, and policy frameworks that nurture talent from the grassroots. The country stands at a tipping point, with universities, corporates, and tech innovators now treating gaming as more than recreation but as a viable industry and a skills engine. If data costs continue to fall and access to high-speed internet expands, esports could evolve into one of South Africa’s most dynamic youth-driven sectors.
