Lower thirds:

0:07 Report by / Matthew Mannion
0:23 Sithe Ncube / Producer, Nyamakop
1:06 Mohale Mashigo / Narrative director, Nyamakop
1:28 Abuja, Nigeria - December 20, 2022

Script:

This is a heist game with a difference.

Set in the near-future, 'Relooted' allows gamers to plan and execute stealth missions to reclaim precious African artefacts.

Many of them taken during the colonial era.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) PRODUCER AT NYAMAKOP, SITHE NCUBE, SAYING:
A huge part of the world does have that shared history of colonialism, and having things taken from their country. So you do actually find people talking about this all over the world and wanting to see that kind of representation in media. But there aren't actually games where you can do this. So, I think it's really great to have this topic come into a game.

The idea for the game came after one of the developers' mothers visited the British Museum in the UK.

The team then chose 70 artefacts that exist in real life for players to bring back to the continent - or as they say 'reloot'

1:06
(SOUNDBITE) (English) NARRATIVE DIRECTOR AT NYAMAKOP, MOHALE MASHIGO, SAYING:
You know, we deal with the very important topic of, you know, restitution of artefacts, but at the end of the day, we're doing it in a way that's fun, that you get to go in, learn about the artefacts, then scan the space, and take your time trying to solve the puzzles, so you can run out of there. So, it is a big rush...

The issue of repatriation has been gaining global momentum in recent years...

Germany has agreed to return    a trove of looted African colonial artifacts.

Including, more than a thousand Benin Bronzes - being handed back to Nigeria over several years.

But despite increasing pressure to repatriate contested objects like these — some Western institutions are still refusing to do so.