Introducing EGF: An Open File Format for Educational Games

EGF is an EPUB-inspired format published on Zenodo in Nov...

A new open file format designed to simplify the creation and distribution of educational video games has been introduced with the release of the Educational Game Format (EGF). Published on Zenodo in November 2025, EGF aims to address long-standing challenges in the development of educational games, particularly within Africa’s growing technology and learning ecosystem.

The format was developed by the creator of ZakiGames, a video game platform launched in 2017 with the goal of promoting education across Africa while supporting the continent’s broader economic growth. During the operation of the platform, a key gap became evident: the limited availability of locally developed educational video games, especially those tailored to African languages and contexts.

To bridge this gap, the platform’s founder began developing original games. One early example was a simple educational game designed to teach the French alphabet, incorporating Hausa-language feedback to enhance accessibility for local users. While effective, the process of building each game from scratch proved time-consuming and difficult to scale.

This challenge informed the development of a more structured approach to educational game creation.

In 2024, while volunteering with AFaLaC (Association Famille Langues Cultures), a French organisation focused on linguistic and cultural diversity through educational games and other activities, further insights emerged. The structural patterns used in earlier projects were found to be adaptable across multiple types of educational content. This realisation led to the concept of a standardised format that could package all necessary game components into a reusable framework.

EGF was created to serve this purpose.

A Structured Approach to Educational Game Development

The Educational Game Format is designed as a container for building simple, linear educational games without requiring programming expertise. Its internal structure draws inspiration from the widely adopted EPUB format, which is used for dig...