Your game dev production knowledge school
We believe learning by shipping is the best way to go from hobbyist to pro.
Real production projects
We embed you into real production projects with professional studios and a growth-minded community, and use our deep expertise to provide intensive, structured support and practical guidance that accelerate learning.
12 weeks
Cohort duration
Fully remote
Join from anywhere
10 hrs/week
Minimum time commitment
A feedback-driven learning experience
A feedback-driven learning experience
Unlike traditional schools, our teaching is reactive and built around your real work—correcting mistakes, spotting gaps, and pointing you forward. That means the more you put in, the more you get out.
Unlike traditional schools, our teaching is reactive and built around your real work—correcting mistakes, spotting gaps, and pointing you forward. That means the more you put in, the more you get out.
Office hours
Throughout the week, drop in for hands-on technical deep dives, Q&A, and live code reviews.
Office hours
Throughout the week, drop in for hands-on technical deep dives, Q&A, and live code reviews.
Office hours
Throughout the week, drop in for hands-on technical deep dives, Q&A, and live code reviews.
Code reviews
Code reviews are core to how developers grow. You’d be surprised how many teams skip them—we don’t.
Code reviews
Code reviews are core to how developers grow. You’d be surprised how many teams skip them—we don’t.
Code reviews
Code reviews are core to how developers grow. You’d be surprised how many teams skip them—we don’t.
Emails and DMs
We send regular emails with longer-form, targeted feedback, and everybody's in the same Discord server.
Emails and DMs
We send regular emails with longer-form, targeted feedback, and everybody's in the same Discord server.
Emails and DMs
We send regular emails with longer-form, targeted feedback, and everybody's in the same Discord server.
Guest lectures
Industry veterans share practical knowledge drawn from their own production experience. 3 lectures per cohort.
Guest lectures
Industry veterans share practical knowledge drawn from their own production experience. 3 lectures per cohort.
Guest lectures
Industry veterans share practical knowledge drawn from their own production experience. 3 lectures per cohort.
Weekly assessments
A short quiz to check your grasp of core concepts and identify gaps.
Weekly assessments
A short quiz to check your grasp of core concepts and identify gaps.
Weekly assessments
A short quiz to check your grasp of core concepts and identify gaps.
Performance reviews
Just like in a professional studio, you’ll receive structured assessments from studios, mentors, and peers.
Performance reviews
Just like in a professional studio, you’ll receive structured assessments from studios, mentors, and peers.
Performance reviews
Just like in a professional studio, you’ll receive structured assessments from studios, mentors, and peers.
What you'll learn and practice
What you'll learn and practice
Blameless culture
Git & review etiquette
Project management
Technical documentation
Writing readable code
Identifying & refactoring code smell
Defensive coding & Unity null safety
C# types & memory model
Unity performance awareness
Unity lifecycle correctness
Applied design patterns
Debugger
Unity Profiler
Unity inspector tooling
and many more…
and many more…
Learn from the best
Learn from the best
Built and run by industry veterans who’ve shipped dozens of games and led best teams.
Built and run by industry veterans who’ve shipped dozens of games and led best teams.
Siobhan Beeman
Siobhan is a veteran game engineer and educator with 30+ years in the industry. She has served as Principal Engineer at Gardens Interactive, NantGames, and Harebrained Schemes, and was a Senior Lecturer at DigiPen Institute of Technology. She's also a devoted LEGO enthusiast with an impressive collection.
Zak Whaley
Zak is a seasoned technology leader and Chair Emeritus of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA). He previously served as Engineering Director at porting studio PlayEveryWare and as a Tech Lead at Magic Leap. Off-hours, he enjoys tinkering with bikes in his garage.
Past guest lecturers
Past guest lecturers
Aaron Rutledge
Game design
Ryan Lastimosa
Art
Mitch Gitelman
Game making
Brian Schwab
Debugging
Renee Gittins
BizDev
Toby Hurtubise
QA
Aaron Rutledge
Game design
Ryan Lastimosa
Art
Mitch Gitelman
Game making
Brian Schwab
Debugging
Renee Gittins
BizDev
Toby Hurtubise
QA
Projects
We partner exclusively with Serenity Forge at the moment. More projects coming soon.
Gameplay Prototyping
Game porting
Unity
Help shape the soul of a fast-paced, horror-themed mountain biking game in pre-production. You’ll expand on early prototypes to refine core gameplay, responsive movement, dynamic cameras, horror mechanics, and atmospheric effects. The focus: tight, replayable loops and terrifying moments built on simple controls. You’ll have plenty of creative freedom to explore bold ideas and define the tone before full production begins.
Unity inspector tooling
Physics essentials
3D math & spatial reasoning
Gameplay Prototyping
Game porting
Unity
Help shape the soul of a fast-paced, horror-themed mountain biking game in pre-production. You’ll expand on early prototypes to refine core gameplay, responsive movement, dynamic cameras, horror mechanics, and atmospheric effects. The focus: tight, replayable loops and terrifying moments built on simple controls. You’ll have plenty of creative freedom to explore bold ideas and define the tone before full production begins.
Unity inspector tooling
Physics essentials
3D math & spatial reasoning
Gameplay Prototyping
Game porting
Unity
Help shape the soul of a fast-paced, horror-themed mountain biking game in pre-production. You’ll expand on early prototypes to refine core gameplay, responsive movement, dynamic cameras, horror mechanics, and atmospheric effects. The focus: tight, replayable loops and terrifying moments built on simple controls. You’ll have plenty of creative freedom to explore bold ideas and define the tone before full production begins.
Unity inspector tooling
Physics essentials
3D math & spatial reasoning
How to apply
$1299
(USD) fee per person
01
Submit your application
After submitting your application, expect to hear back within 1-2 weeks if you're selected for an interview.
02
Interview
Interviews will include a mix of technical and personality questions. It’s a chance to showcase your passion for game dev and demonstrate a solid foundation in programming.
03
Get started
Once accepted, you’ll be invited to the server and get started!
Who is eligible
Real production pipeline, not for beginners
You drop straight into a real studio workflow with minimal handholding: weekly syncs, stand-ups, and the existing dev pipeline. If you just opened Unity, this isn’t for you. You should already know your way around the engine, have a few game jams behind you, and have shipped something on itch.io or even Steam.
Real production pipeline, not for beginners
You drop straight into a real studio workflow with minimal handholding: weekly syncs, stand-ups, and the existing dev pipeline. If you just opened Unity, this isn’t for you. You should already know your way around the engine, have a few game jams behind you, and have shipped something on itch.io or even Steam.
Real production pipeline, not for beginners
You drop straight into a real studio workflow with minimal handholding: weekly syncs, stand-ups, and the existing dev pipeline. If you just opened Unity, this isn’t for you. You should already know your way around the engine, have a few game jams behind you, and have shipped something on itch.io or even Steam.
Real production pipeline, not for beginners
You drop straight into a real studio workflow with minimal handholding: weekly syncs, stand-ups, and the existing dev pipeline. If you just opened Unity, this isn’t for you. You should already know your way around the engine, have a few game jams behind you, and have shipped something on itch.io or even Steam.
Come in with an open mind. Seriously
The big gap between a hobbyist and a pro isn’t just technical skill—it’s mindset: taking initiative, diving into existing code, and being willing to throw away work. Those habits usually take real professional time to build; we try to compress that into 12 weeks. That only works if you are ready to push yourself.
Come in with an open mind. Seriously
The big gap between a hobbyist and a pro isn’t just technical skill—it’s mindset: taking initiative, diving into existing code, and being willing to throw away work. Those habits usually take real professional time to build; we try to compress that into 12 weeks. That only works if you are ready to push yourself.
Come in with an open mind. Seriously
The big gap between a hobbyist and a pro isn’t just technical skill—it’s mindset: taking initiative, diving into existing code, and being willing to throw away work. Those habits usually take real professional time to build; we try to compress that into 12 weeks. That only works if you are ready to push yourself.
Come in with an open mind. Seriously
The big gap between a hobbyist and a pro isn’t just technical skill—it’s mindset: taking initiative, diving into existing code, and being willing to throw away work. Those habits usually take real professional time to build; we try to compress that into 12 weeks. That only works if you are ready to push yourself.
Don't take our word for it
See what our past students have to say.
"As a self-taught game developer, I lacked both a network and confidence in my skills—RealXP Lab provided me with both. The program not only connected me with like-minded peers and invaluable mentors, but also gave me hands-on experience in a professional environment and the reassurance of feedback from industry experts."
Zack Coleman
Freelance Game Developer
"Compared to my last internship, this absolutely blows it out of the water. This is a very engaging program, and I appreciate that it feels more like actual work rather than someone holding my hand through every step."
Ryan Smith
Software Engineer, Smith Parker Elliott
"Students are trusted with meaningful ownership and given the freedom to explore. Effort is rewarded: the more dedication invested, the richer the experience becomes through deeper mentorship, greater responsibility, and accelerated growth. It’s a strong bridge between personal projects and real-world production workflows."
Murat Diken
Unity Developer, Æ Labs
"The instructors were all very knowledgeable, experienced. In addition to learning coding skills, we also learned a lot of "on the job" skills like agile workflows, code reviews, and how to work with a team of other programmers. Overall, I think it was a great experience that will help me land a great game dev job."
Ryan Maidhof
Mechanical Design Engineer, ASML
"RealXP Lab was one of the most valuable learning experiences I've had so far as a game developer. The pacing and environment felt much closer to a real studio than anything I've experienced in college, and I came out of it feeling confident that I can hit the ground running in a professional role. I also met amazing people and built connections that I know will be extremely valuable."
Zach Petty
B.S. in Game Programming and Development, SNHU
"This program has given me more game development knowledge than three years of studying game programming, and I'm really glad to have the chance to work with so many great people."
Mateusz Stanek
Game Programmer
Show more
"As a self-taught game developer, I lacked both a network and confidence in my skills—RealXP Lab provided me with both. The program not only connected me with like-minded peers and invaluable mentors, but also gave me hands-on experience in a professional environment and the reassurance of feedback from industry experts."
Zack Coleman
Freelance Game Developeroduct, Cloud
"Students are trusted with meaningful ownership and given the freedom to explore. Effort is rewarded: the more dedication invested, the richer the experience becomes through deeper mentorship, greater responsibility, and accelerated growth. It’s a strong bridge between personal projects and real-world production workflows."
Murat Diken
Unity Developer, Æ Labs
"RealXP Lab was one of the most valuable learning experiences I've had so far as a game developer. The pacing and environment felt much closer to a real studio than anything I've experienced in college, and I came out of it feeling confident that I can hit the ground running in a professional role. I also met amazing people and built connections that I know will be extremely valuable."
Zach Petty
B.S. in Game Programming and Development, SNHU
"As a self-taught game developer, I lacked both a network and confidence in my skills—RealXP Lab provided me with both. The program not only connected me with like-minded peers and invaluable mentors, but also gave me hands-on experience in a professional environment and the reassurance of feedback from industry experts."
Zack Coleman
Freelance Game Developer
"Compared to my last internship, this absolutely blows it out of the water. This is a very engaging program, and I appreciate that it feels more like actual work rather than someone holding my hand through every step."
Ryan Smith
Software Engineer, Smith Parker Elliott
"Students are trusted with meaningful ownership and given the freedom to explore. Effort is rewarded: the more dedication invested, the richer the experience becomes through deeper mentorship, greater responsibility, and accelerated growth. It’s a strong bridge between personal projects and real-world production workflows."
Murat Diken
Unity Developer, Æ Labs
"The instructors were all very knowledgeable, experienced. In addition to learning coding skills, we also learned a lot of "on the job" skills like agile workflows, code reviews, and how to work with a team of other programmers. Overall, I think it was a great experience that will help me land a great game dev job."
Ryan Maidhof
Mechanical Design Engineer, ASML
"RealXP Lab was one of the most valuable learning experiences I've had so far as a game developer. The pacing and environment felt much closer to a real studio than anything I've experienced in college, and I came out of it feeling confident that I can hit the ground running in a professional role. I also met amazing people and built connections that I know will be extremely valuable."
Zach Petty
B.S. in Game Programming and Development, SNHU
"This program has given me more game development knowledge than three years of studying game programming, and I'm really glad to have the chance to work with so many great people."
Mateusz Stanek
Game Programmer
FAQ
Questions we get all the time.
How is this different from an internship that I have to pay for?
How is this different from a certificate program, bootcamp, or skill course?
Do I need to quit my job or school?
Do you offer scholarships?
Do I need a visa or work authorization?
How is this different from an internship that I have to pay for?
How is this different from a certificate program, bootcamp, or skill course?
Do I need to quit my job or school?
Do you offer scholarships?
Do I need a visa or work authorization?
How is this different from an internship that I have to pay for?
How is this different from a certificate program, bootcamp, or skill course?
Do I need to quit my job or school?
Do you offer scholarships?
Do I need a visa or work authorization?
