Nyamakop

Country: South Africa

Founded: 2016

Team Size: 30

Platforms: PC, Console

Status: Active

Overview

Nyamakop is an independent game development studio based in Johannesburg, founded in 2016 by University of the Witwatersrand students Ben Myres and Cukia "Sugar" Kimani. The studio has been called "one of the most promising studios in African game development" by Polygon, with a diverse team spanning South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Kenya.

Nyamakop's debut title, Semblance, launched in 2018 and became the first game developed by an African studio to appear on any Nintendo console, and the first South African game on Nintendo Switch. Billed by the studio as "the world's first true plat-former," it follows Squish, a blob-like creature reshaping a Play-Doh-like world under threat from a hardening disease, and drew praise from IGN ("a wonderful sense of freedom"), GameSpot ("innovative"), and Game Informer ("inventive").

Building on that success, Nyamakop released its follow-up title, Relooted, on February 10, 2026, described by the studio as "not just a heist, it's a rescue mission."

Games

Semblance
Relooted

Key People

Ben Myres - Co-founder
Cukia "Sugar" Kimani - Co-founder
Marcia Shange - Chief Operations Officer