SpaceSalad Studios founder Thabo Tsolo shares how local stories, mentorship, and playful innovation are transforming the gaming industry and empowering young creators across South Africa.
Johannesburg, South Africa (11 November 2025) – Children of the 80s and 90s grew up with gaming consoles in their homes, and it’s these generations that have been the forerunners in the gaming culture we see today. For Thabo Tsolo, it was his favourite childhood games that inspired him to pursue a career in game development, later opening his company SpaceSalad Studios.
What started as a childhood dream has evolved into a blend of entertaining games, social commentary, and education. Looking back on those first moments, Thabo shares that playing games on his mom’s phone was fun, but he didn’t connect with it until he got his first PlayStation. Like most children, Thabo spent hours playing his favourite games.
He started to think about what careers to pursue in high school, and architecture was one he was keen on, but when his marks didn’t hit the mark, he realised he could still build houses within the animation and gaming space, honouring that skill in a creative and exciting way. He found his space in game development and hasn’t looked back since.
Thabo’s first game earned him great praise and acknowledgement across South Africa. The game was about a taxi wheel that got lost and needed to find its way back to the taxi rank. Seeing the public engage so positively in his game inspired the desire to make more games with local roots.
“I started making games from the things I was experiencing, those were the first subject matters. I had an idea. People wanted to see more African games, games they could relate to. That’s when I realised maybe I am onto something”
SpaceSalad Studios focuses on blending entertainment with social commentary while creating fun games that are relatable and exciting. Whether working on local games or catering to international audiences, the studio honours games that connect people.
“The time that we spend playing video games, if that could be directed towards something more meaningful, something that can bring change, whether through changing behaviour or changing the community that they reside in. It’s super powerful. I don’t think there is any other medium that can do that and thats when we locked into the game space of social commentary”
Today, with games like P.O.O Weekly and Doba Dash in the works, Thabo and his team work on games that reflect the interests of players. One of the fun ones we discussed was P.O.O Weekly, or as we so often hear on TV, “Point Of Order”. The game, in collaboration with Zapiro, is a striking example of how games can be used for social commentary. Watch the latest demo trailer here.
Speaking to the creative elements of the game, Thabo and his team were eager to work with Zapiro. His depiction of politicians in the media is iconic, and having that included in the game was a massive accomplishment.
“P.O.O Weekly is one of those examples where we really wanted to approach politics in a different way”
“We didn’t want it to be biased. How do we showcase politics from different perspectives without being biased or saying which is the lesser evil?”
That’s when they flipped the script and made the politicians the heroes, while the “bad guys” became the opposing policies, such as the energy issue, where it’s coal versus solar, but the ultimate monster is Loadshedding. Players pick their political heroes, and the aim is to slay the monster. With politics being so nuanced, it’s great to see an option where people can play out different scenarios and perhaps even learn along the way.
The hope is to help tackle the polarising topics that plague the world today, offering balance and a way to give people perspective from an opposing side without forcing them to challenge their own belief systems, if they choose to play that way. Much like how art and music are influenced by the times, gaming is adopting this, and it’s great to see how creative that space can be.
SpaceSalad Studio gained recognition internationally, being selected as a Création Africa Laureate. Création Africa is a French–South African programme, through the French Institute of South Africa (IFAS), that supports creative entrepreneurs with incubation and seed funding. Being included in the programme shifted how Thabo managed his company, moving from a creative focus to a full business focus, merging the creative with the day-to-day tasks of administration, finances, and working with major clients.
Thabo was flown to Paris and networked with some of the industry’s leaders, and was able to collaborate with industry peers, such as those at Pineapple on Pizza Studios.
Thabo credits the Création Africa mentors for helping implement processes that are still used within SpaceSalad Studios today. From forecasting to finance projections, Thabo says it was all so helpful in expanding and establishing the business.
“Now we understand how to operate as a business without neglecting the creative process. Understanding that, as a creative business, you can sustain yourself and still run a proper business. You can feel, but you also have to handle the admin and bookkeeping and make sales, but you don’t miss out on your calling as a creative”
“It’s something I am still using today, and I don’t think I am ever going to let go of that. Before it was a passion, but now this is a legit business!”
For Thabo, another big passion is taking his skillset to underprivileged communities to showcase what the gaming space can be and to inspire the next generation of gamers and developers. Having role models within the industry that are forging a way forward for South African developers is big, and the children Thabo meets always leave his workshops with bigger and brighter dreams.
“That for me, is one of the projects I wish I could do more of. Most of these children do not have access to games like this but them interacting with the games and seeing the team behind that is such an amazing thing to witness”
The children get to create their own games, and most of them eagerly express that they would love to become developers one day. While these workshops need resources, Thabo always loves the chance to make them happen.
“For us, it’s such an amazing thing to show these kids that this is a potential career they can pursue. That they can also tell their stories. Africa has so much untapped potential; our stores are not being told, so just having more and more people coming up, sharing stories with the world, I think it can be a big export!”
For young South Africans who dream of creating games but don’t know where to start, Thabo says do your research, but just start. A quick Google is a great place to start, and then start finding events and meet-ups.
“A bunch of game designers, from hobbyists, students, to studio owners meet up and discuss industry topics and showcase games, and it’s really fun”
“That way you can meet people like me and other game designers, who could potentially become mentors.”
SpaceSalad Studios and Thabo Tsolo are ones to watch!
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