Nyamakop

Nyamakop is an independent game development studio based in Johannesburg, South Africa, creating original PC and console games for a global audience. Its work combines African-inspired settings and storytelling with distinctive gameplay systems, from deformable puzzle environments to parkour-driven heists. The studio develops its own intellectual property, with capabilities spanning game design, engineering, narrative, audio and commercial production.

Ben Myres and Cukia Kimani established the studio in 2015 while studying Game Design at the University of the Witwatersrand. The business incorporated in South Africa in 2016. Its development from a student team into an independent commercial studio has centred on producing African-created games for international audiences.

From malleable worlds to cultural restitution

Nyamakop released its debut commercial game, Semblance, in 2018 through publisher Good Shepherd Entertainment. The puzzle-platformer makes the environment itself part of the puzzle: players reshape soft terrain to create routes and overcome obstacles. Released on PC and Nintendo Switch, it became the first African-developed intellectual property to launch on a Nintendo console.

Its subsequent game, Relooted, launched in February 2026 for Windows PC and Xbox Series X/S. Set in an Africanfuturist world, the game follows Nomali and her crew as they recover African cultural treasures from Western institutions. Its premise incorporates 70 real artifacts, connecting its fictional heists with questions of cultural heritage and historical restitution. The gameplay brings together 3D parkour, stealth, puzzles and action around that central premise.

Across these projects, Nyamakop pairs original mechanics with culturally grounded subject matter. Its engineering work includes Unity, C# and C++, supporting development across PC and modern consoles. The company operates through a hybrid and distributed team based primarily in South Africa, with collaborators elsewhere across the African continent.