Nigerian Developer Shalom Rayhamen's Game Hits $10M Valuation

Lagos Life, a viral browser game created by Nigerian software developer Shalom Rayhamen, launched on October 1, 2026. In just eight days, the company behind the game, Vatar, secured $500,000 in pre-seed funding at a valuation of $10 million.

This funding round included prominent figures from Nigeria's technology sector, such as Flutterwave CEO Olugbenga Agboola, tech entrepreneur Oo Nwoye, Terra Industries CEO Nathan Nwachuku, and Mono CEO Abdulhamid Hassan. The game, which requires no app download, allows players to create characters and engage in a digital representation of everyday Nigerian life, including job hunting, earning virtual naira, paying rent, and socializing.

Within its first three days, Lagos Life reported over one million players, and by October 9, this figure exceeded five million, although these numbers have not been independently verified. The rapid success of Lagos Life underscores the potential of locally inspired ideas in Nigeria's gaming industry to attract significant user engagement and investment.