Wits students win with taxi game

In two thousand twenty-two, Eric Gardiner and Mamello Raboroko, then final-year Wits University students, entered a taxi-themed video game prototype into a Wits Tshimologong competition and won.

Taxi Ranked hits half a million

Their game Taxi Ranked has over five hundred thousand downloads. The Tshimologong prize allowed Gardiner, aged twenty-six, and Raboroko, aged twenty-eight, to launch their independent company Vetkoek Studios.

South African details make it unique

Taxi Ranked lets players drive a customisable taxi while dodging potholes, picking up customers, and escaping police. It features bright art and South African details like billboards advertising NikNaks and Ouma Rusks.

Expanding beyond taxis

Since opening in two thousand twenty-three, Vetkoek Studios has launched Aquabots on Roblox with a wildlife nonprofit to teach marine conservation. Next is a car game based on the South African TV show Spinners.

Training and corporate games

Vetkoek Studios has launched a corporate service offering specialised training games for companies, particularly safety training. The studio is also hosting the Roblox Accelerator Programme, paying five thousand rand to six winners.

Empowering young developers

Gardiner says Vetkoek Studios wants to bridge being a profit-making company and a community structure. The pair plan to expand their game catalogue, collaborate with peers, and work with Wits and University of Cape Town on training.

“We want to provide a bridge between being a company that makes games for profit, and being a structure in our community.”

Selected for French incubation

Vetkoek Studios is among the top fifteen finalists for the two thousand twenty-six Création Africa seven-month incubation programme hosted by the French Institute of South Africa.

A chance to sustain and grow

Gardiner calls the Création Africa selection a great honour and pivotal step. He says it is a huge opportunity to bring the studio into a revenue generation position where they can sustain themselves and bring in talent from their community.

“This is a huge opportunity for us to really take off from the ground and bring our studio into a revenue generation position where we can start reliably sustaining ourselves.”