Africa’s gaming surge is changing what players need
Africa’s gaming market has officially entered a new era. With South Africa now valued at over USD 1 billion and growing at more than 9 percent annually, the continent’s gaming conversation has shifted from titles and tournaments to the hardware ecosystem that makes competitive play possible.
According to Yugen Naidoo, General Manager at Lenovo Southern Africa, the display has emerged as the single most important piece of gaming equipment. Across eSports, streaming and content creation, the monitor is no longer a supporting accessory. It is the performance engine.
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As global PC gaming climbed past 907 million players in 2024, African gamers have become more tech savvy, more demanding and more invested in professional grade tools. This shift is driving a new frontier in hardware innovation, one that focuses on speed, ergonomics, accuracy and intelligent personalisation.
Smart ergonomics redefine the gaming experience
At CES 2025, Lenovo showcased an early blueprint for the future. Its AI Display Proof of Concept demonstrated how the next generation of monitors will adjust brightness, contrast, colour temperature and refresh rate in real time, based on lighting conditions and user posture.
This directly addresses a major pain point for African gamers and creators. Long sessions, inconsistent lighting and limited workspace flexibility often lead to eye strain and visual fatigue. By adapting dynamically to the user, AI driven ergonomics create healthier viewing conditions and more consistent immersion.
For players who stream, edit video, or compete across different environments, these auto adjustments remove friction and deliver clarity no matter where they are.
Performance over pixels: what African gamers really want
While 4K still dominates marketing hype, consumer behaviour shows that gamers prioritise speed and responsiveness. High refresh rates, low latency and fast response times matter more than pure resolution, especially in competitive titles.
IDC reported that gaming monitor shipments grew more than 20 percent in 2023 and are expected to grow another 13.6 percent in 2024, with the majority concentrated in 144Hz and higher displays. MyBroadband’s 2024 analysis showed that South Africans now gravitate toward 27 inch QHD monitors with 100 to 165Hz refresh rates as the ideal balance between price and performance.
Lenovo’s Legion lineup, including the R25i 30, R27i 30 and R34w 30 curved models, reflects that demand. With response times as low as 0.5ms and refresh rates up to 180Hz, these monitors are engineered for competitive accuracy and fluid motion, making them ideal for both serious and aspiring eSports players.
Gaming and content creation are now inseparable
The modern African gamer is also a creator. Whether publishing clips to TikTok, livestreaming on YouTube or editing gameplay highlights, today’s monitors need to perform on both sides of the workflow.
More than 40 percent of global gamers also use their monitors for content production, a figure expected to rise as social platforms embrace gaming driven formats. In Africa, this trend is even more pronounced as digital entertainment grows in parallel with youth entrepreneurship.
Legion monitors cater to this hybrid reality with factory calibrated colour accuracy, wide colour reproduction, multiple ports and adjustable stands. The same display that delivers a crisp competitive edge can also handle editing, design and multi screen creative setups.
The next wave: AI, OLED, Mini LED and smarter sync
The global gaming monitor market, valued at USD 10.65 billion in 2024, is expected to surpass USD 21 billion by 2034. That growth will be fuelled by the rise of OLED and Mini LED panels, adaptive sync technologies, AI powered optimisation and increasingly personalised visual experiences.
For African gamers, the opportunity lies in pairing global innovation with local accessibility. The region’s players are value driven but increasingly sophisticated. They want premium performance at affordable pricing, and Lenovo’s investment in RnD and manufacturing scale allows it to deliver exactly that.
As eSports expands and creator communities multiply, the monitor has become the new battleground for performance. With smarter displays, AI driven comfort and high refresh visuals, Africa’s gaming ecosystem is being shaped by screens built for the next decade of digital competition.
