Sea Monster

Sea Monster is a game development studio based in South Africa with 40 full-time staff. Co-founded by Glenn Gillis (CEO) and Munki Groenewald (Creative Director), the studio specializes in games designed to drive business outcomes and social impact. The company works across mobile, Roblox, AR, and VR, taking projects from brief through measurement. Recent clients include Nedbank, Allan Gray Orbis Foundation, Aware.org, Nelson Mandela University, FNB, Capitec Bank, and the US Embassy in London. Sea Monster is a founding member of the Pan African Gaming Group and a sponsor of Games for Change Africa.

Services and capabilities

The studio's core offerings span mobile game development (including app store and HTML5/progressive web apps), Roblox experience development, and AR/VR solutions. Sea Monster reports over 40+ AR and VR implementations. On the learning side, the company cites completion rate improvements of 60–85% versus 20–40% for traditional e-learning, knowledge retention boosts of 75% over passive content, and training cost reductions of 40–70%. For marketing-focused work, they highlight engagement rate increases of 5–15x over traditional campaigns, voluntary participation lifts of 200–400%, and time-spent-with-brand gains of 300–800% (2–8 minutes versus 3–5 seconds).

Pricing varies by scope. Web games typically run R1.9m–R5m+; Roblox experiences R1.6m–R8m+. Timeline depends on complexity: medium projects take 4–5 months, large 6–8 months, X-large 9–10 months (design and build phase).

Notable work

Nedbank commissioned two projects: Chow Town, a multiplayer progression from the original single-player version, and a separate Chow Town metaverse experience positioning the bank as the first African bank in the metaverse. Allan Gray Orbis Foundation engaged Sea Monster to build a gamified high school entrepreneurship challenge. Aware.org has deployed multiple Roblox experiences, including Party in your Pocket and a zombie escape room both addressing underage drinking. Nelson Mandela University developed FishFORCE: Bridge Inspection, framing fisheries training as a detective experience. FNB's Fundaba presents a business coach on mobile, while Capitec Bank's Livin' it Up focuses on money management. The US Embassy in London commissioned Heroes of WWII Uncovered, a game exploring untold World War II narratives.

How they work

Sea Monster uses a four-phase methodology: Discovery (define audience, objectives, constraints), Design & Development (shape and build the experience), Deployment (test and launch), and Measurement & Optimisation (track performance and iterate). The company retains a typical engagement model in which the client funds the project, retains ownership of the final product, and Sea Monster acts as design, development, and technical support partner. Lebo Lekoma leads client services, drawing on 20+ years working with regulated financial and retail sectors.

Team and credentials

Glenn Gillis, CEO and co-founder, brings 25 years as a senior executive and consultant in local creative industries and chairs Games for Change Africa. Munki Groenewald, Creative Director and co-founder, combines psychology and technology expertise in user journey and impact game design. Jade Duckitt serves as Creative Director and Lead Game Designer, leading VR and Roblox initiatives. The studio operates as one of the largest on the African continent and is a founding member of the Pan African Gaming Group (200+ professionals across the continent). Sea Monster regularly sponsors Games for Change Africa festival.