Ijeoma Shalom Rayhamen
Role: Founder and Developer, Lagos Life
Location: United Kingdom
Background
Ijeoma Shalom Rayhamen is a Nigerian software developer and the creator of Lagos Life, a browser-based social life simulation set in a virtual version of Lagos. She is based in the UK and works under the name Shalom Rayhamen.
Rayhamen has nearly a decade of software development experience and built Lagos Life after seeing Opeyemi Adeniran's Lagos Run. She grew up playing The Sims 3 and wondered what the game would look like if it was set in a world inspired by her own experiences.
The project quickly grew beyond a personal experiment. Lagos Life passed one million players within days of launch and attracted players from countries including Ghana, South Africa, the UK, the US and Togo.
Lagos Life
Lagos Life allows players to create characters, find jobs, earn and spend virtual money, rent and furnish homes, travel around the city and interact with other players. The game uses familiar Nigerian experiences and locations as part of its gameplay, including Lagos transport, entertainment, jobs, rent, electricity and social life.
Rayhamen has continued to expand the game based on player feedback. Lagos Life has since added Abuja and Port Harcourt alongside its original Lagos setting.
The game became a major browser-game success shortly after launch, passing 2 million players and attracting more than 100,000 concurrent players. It has also developed a business model based around virtual advertising, with companies able to buy billboards and other placements inside the game.
Current Focus
Rayhamen is now focused on turning Lagos Life from a solo project into a proper gaming company. She has assembled a core team of fewer than six people, with additional people supporting areas including operations, marketing, product and customer support.
She also uses AI throughout development, including AI agents that help identify bugs, fix problems and prioritise feature requests. This has allowed her to develop and update the game at a faster pace.
Industry Position
Rayhamen's work is part of a growing group of Nigerian developers using browser games to build experiences around local places and everyday life. Lagos Life takes the basic idea of a life simulation and applies it to Nigerian culture, humour, money, work and social life.
She has also shown an interest in building games that can expand beyond a single city. The addition of Abuja and Port Harcourt follows requests from players for versions of the game based on other Nigerian cities.
What She Is Building Toward
Rayhamen is working to grow Lagos Life into a larger gaming company rather than keeping it as a solo development project. The game is already expanding into more Nigerian cities, while its advertising and commercial systems give the project a business model beyond traditional game sales.
Her longer-term focus is on building games and digital experiences around Nigerian life and culture while creating products that can reach players outside Nigeria.