Most publishers deny Africa from having game servers but r🌱elease statements condemning racism and promoting equality. It seems like black lives matter, but not enough to get the same services as the rest of the world.
The tragic death of George Floyd has ignited a movement to end racism and promote inclusivity. Companies that previously sat on the fence have been forced to take action and prove they are progressive and are moving with the times. Over the last few weeks, there has been an unprecedented show of support for the black community, with most publishers releasing statements condemning racism and taking action to ensure inclusivity and equality. Many po🔯pular games even have "Black Lives Matter" banners to affirm this stance. Something these companies are conveniently forgetting is that ALL black lives matter, not just American black lives.
The largest black community lives in Africa and has a long history of being treated as s🧸econd-class, whether it's colonialism, the slave trade, or gaining access to world-class events. The stereotype of Africa being poor, dirty, and underdeveloped is still strong up to this day with no sign of change on the horizon. Yes, some places are less developed, but in the last few decades, the continent has made massive strides in terms of technology and has seen incredible growth. Despite all the progress, most video game publishers don't have a single server on the continent, and exclude Africa from their events completely.
Big names in gaming like Apex Legends, FIFA, Fortnite, League of Legends, Valorant, Rainbow Six Siege, and more have a worldwide following with servers everywhere except Africa. As an African gamer, I find it insulting and hypocritical that these companies force 𝓰us to read Black Lives Matter messages every time we start a game, yet most black people aren't allowed to get the best experience from it.
Let's take Apex Legends as an example. EA released a statement saying, " We’re contributing $1 million to organizations dedicated to the fight for racial justice in 🍌the U.S. and against discrimination🎉 around the world." They go on to say, "Beginning with the Equal Justice Initiative, the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, and with more partners to come, we are deepening our support of organizations working to stop systemic racial injustice, fight discrimination and protect human rights in the U.S. and beyond."
Apex Legends has a whopping 46 servers scattered in 18 places around the world. When broken down by location, North America has 17, South America has five, Western Europe has seven, East Asia has nine, South East Asia has three, Asia Pacific has five, and Africa has a big fat zero. This is how EA is working to fight injustice a🍒nd discrimination.
The same goes for Riot Games, Ubisoft, and most other publishers. They've all released statements claiming to support black people and end racism, yet Africa isn't part of their plans and isn't w🎃orthy of their services. They may bring up the old argumentꦫ about a lack of players and lack of infrastructure, but that's simply untrue. Africa has a large, vibrant gaming community who have to suffer from constant connectivity issues to follow their passion. Both Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Service also have functioning data centers in Africa to facilitate gaming servers.
The lack of servers creates a vicious cycle. Publishers don't have African servers because they think there aren't enough playe🥃rs, but without servers, how is the player base expected to grow? The impact of this policy has had a truly detrimental effect on the African gaming community. Many games have "World" Cups or "World" Championships, and it's evident that Africa isn't part of their "World." No matter how good African players are, there's no way of getting involved in many of the sanctioned leagues without moving to another continent.
Gaming isn't only about games. It's a social experience to connect people. This is even more true in the time of COVID-19. Playing online together is one of the few activities that separated families and friends can do together and is a way to bond. Right now, siblings are shooting each other from across the world in Fortnite, and friends are scoring against each other in FIFA. Sadly African players don't gꦉet to join the party. They must put up with terrible lag and non-stop connection issues if they want to play. Not only is this a frustrating experience for them, but it kills the fun for their overseas teammates with a decent connection.
It's ridiculous that publishers don't realize the potential of African gamers. This untapped market could drastically increase their revenue and add to the already booming esports industry. African gamers relentlessly soldier on despite being shunned by publishers, and are at a constant disadvantage. If they had a level playing field, they could easily give other teams in🌱 the world a run for their money.
Quite frankly, I think it's disgusting that these publishers have th🥀e nerve to put Black Lives Matter banners on their games when most black people aren't allowed to play them without issues. To me, it's the modern-day equivalent of a "No Africans Allowed" sign. African gamers aren't asking for special treatmen🙈t, We just want to be treated the same as everybody else.
Sources: , Epic Games