By:tntnewspaprgh.com
The E.A. Jackson auditorium, Engineering Facility of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), which played host for the maiden MTN Ghana’s Game Developer Contest 2026 atmosphere on Monday, 26th October, 2026, was fully charged as ten (10) shortlisted from university students and members of the game community battle it out for a spot in the final six (6) developers to be selected.
The review process gathering was an opportunity for contestants to showcase or demonstrate and defend their projects before the panel of judges.
The contest under the theme “Build, showcase & defend your game” aimed at motivating or encouraging university students and members of the game community to create Ghanaian or African-owed games for people to subscribe to on a big platform instead of games from outside.
The MTN’s digifest is therefore seen as a game-changer for the potential game developers, hence their display of innovative game development content and ideas to convince the panel of judges to consider their games as they reviewed their works ahead of the selection of the finalists.
Mr Yaw Antwi Boadu, manager for video and gaming for MTN Ghana
The 10 were shortlisted from over fifty (50) applications received by MTN Ghana after the closure of the application for the contest.
The contest was opened on August 24, 2026, and closed on October 19, 2026.
In an interview with journalists, Mr Yaw Antwi Boadu, manager for video and gaming for MTN Ghana, revealed that handsome packages have been planned for the winners.
According to him, three developers will be selected from each of the two categories: the university students’ category and the members of the game community category.
The panel of judges for the maiden MTN Ghana game developer contest
Besides, a grand winner will also be selected. The first position winner will go home with MacBook Pro; the second winner will receive a Galaxy Tap, and the third winner will also go home with an iPhone 17 Air for each of the categories.
He revealed that the first to third winners will receive mentorship training, and their games will be Polish and put on a gaming platform setup in Ghana, which can be subscribed across the world.
Mr Boadu announced that the five shortlisted from Industry Game Developers (community category) include 1. KONK, 2. African Household Drama,3. RPS BOXING, 4. Path Puzzle and 5. Akofena, while the five shortlisted among university student game developers are 1. SANKOFA, 2. Megamind, 3. FOUR CORDERS, 4. Four Goal Football as well as 5. The Warehouse.
Mr Yaw Antwi Boadu said that as part of the 30th anniversary celebration, MTN Ghana has put together a game developer contest to try to get people to develop games.
“We know that gaming is a big thing, and the youth love it. MTN is trying to bring people within the space, but all that we see is that people are engaging in games that are brought from outside.
We want to create the games from within so that people will enjoy our games, and through the games, we will be able to tell our stories from our setup in Ghana and Africa projected to the world.”
According to him, MTN Ghana already has some collaboration with KNUST starting with the AI competition, and Digifest was the next step to that competition, and KNUST happened to host the first, or the maiden, game developer contest.
He pointed out that the contest is going to be an annual event that goes around the 16 regions and various university campuses. Mr Boadu said with the contest,
“We are going to pick three winners from each of the two categories: the university students’ category and the community members’ category, and a grand winner will also be selected.
The final people will be selected and will be given a mentorship.For games, it cut across when we talked about gaming people thinking it is all about betting. The two differ; gamming is not only about entertainment; it is used to promote our heritage and culture, agriculture, finance, and other sectors.
Mr Boadu said the contest was opened to all university students across the country as well as independent developers, game development teams, studios, and members of game development communities.
He explained that every entry is assessed based on user interface and user experience, code quality, creativity, originality, gameplay, and potential for further development and commercialisation.
The manager for video and gaming at MTN Ghana said the competition formed part of their efforts to build local capacity in game development and reduce Ghana and Africa’s reliance on games produced outside Africa.Adding MTN believes that “Ghanaian developers have the potential to create original games that reflect local experiences, preserve cultural identity, and introduce Ghanaian stories to international audiences.
“We want to create an environment in which talented young people can transform their ideas into digital products and benefit commercially from their work,” Mr Boadu stressed.
He, therefore, pointed out that gaming goes beyond entertainment. According to him, developers can do games that could improve public understanding of agriculture, financial literacy, and our heritage and culture, among other sectors.
In an interview with Clement Asare, a information technology student at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) in the Accra campus, he expressed appreciation to MTN Ghana for creating the opportunity for them.
He was optimistic of emerging as a winner in the contest. On his part, Mantey Calib, developer of Akofena, couldn’t hide his excitement and huge praises for MTN Ghana for coming up with a game-changer initiative aimed at supporting local game development and providing creators with a platform to present their work.
According to him, the DigiFest Game Developer Contest highlights the potential of gaming to connect technology, education, culture, and entrepreneurship while creating new opportunities for Ghanaian youth.
Adding that locally developed games could provide opportunities for software developers, graphic designers, musicians, and storytellers to collaborate, create original On her part, Ms Venus Tawia, Director of Women’s Esports, Esports Association of Ghana, who doubles as the leader of Queens Africa, commended MTN Ghana for the initiative. Ms Venus Tawia, who is also a woman in the esports community and a member of the panel of judges, stressed the urgent need for financial investment in locally developed games to enable Ghana to participate more effectively in the expanding digital economy.According to her, gaming has the potency of bringing out creative and technical disciplines, including coding, music, entertainment, and digital design, creating opportunities for young people to acquire diverse skills and pursue careers in the digital industry.She therefore called on stakeholders to provide emerging developers with the skills, resources, mentorship, and market opportunities needed to turn their ideas into sustainable products.
