Careers at Rare Castle

Join Rare Castle: Contributor Program, Cohort 2

Rare Castle is an independent studio in Cairo, Egypt, and an official PlayStation Partner. We are building Off the Grid: Bad Dream, a cinematic psychological mystery in Unreal Engine 5, and the first entry in a new category we call healing games: the mystery and atmosphere of the thrillers we love, without the fear, leaving players calmer, more hopeful and more curious than before.

The adventure half of Chapter 1 is already playable. Cohort 2 joins to build what comes next.

What Cohort 2 will build

Two milestones, planned for 3 months at best and 6 months at most:

1. The action half of Chapter 1: enemies, weapons, combat feedback, arenas and combat UI.
2. A polished Chapter 1: both halves brought together to vertical slice quality, and if possible to release quality.

Chapter 1 matters three ways:

• It is the prototype we present to platform funding programs.
• If we secure funding, it becomes the foundation of full production.
• If we do not, Rare Castle will finish Chapter 1 and release it commercially, and its revenue funds the next chapter.

Either way, your work is built to ship.

How intake works

We learned from our first cohort that a team needs structure before it needs size. So Cohort 2 opens in phases, not on a single date:

1. Phase 1: Leadership and operations. The people who build and run the team system with the Game Director. Talent acquisition and HR comes first.
2. Phase 2: Production. Artists, programmers, designers, animators, audio and QA, onboarded into a ready pipeline with clear tasks from day one.

We do not give a fixed start date, because we would rather open when the system is ready than open on time and waste your effort. Every applicant gets a progress update each month until their phase opens.

Open roles

All roles are open.

Phase 1: Leadership and operations

• Talent Acquisition and HR Lead (first priority)
• Producer / Project Manager
• Technical Lead (Unreal Engine)
• Art Lead
• Community and Social Media Manager

Phase 2: Production

• Programming: gameplay programmer (Unreal, Blueprints), systems and tools programmer
• Art: concept, character and enemy, environment and props, hard-surface and weapons, lighting, VFX, UI/UX
• Animation: gameplay and combat animator, cinematic animator
• Design: game designer, systems designer, level designer
• Audio: sound designer, composer
• Narrative: writer, screenwriter, voice actor
• QA and playtesting

Who this is for

• People who want real production experience on an ambitious, internationally competitive title.
• People who want credited, portfolio-grade work and a long-term place in a growing studio.

Who this is not for

This is unpaid work. If you need income from this work now, this program is not the right fit, and we would rather tell you that honestly today.

What you get

• Credit: named credit for every meaningful contribution, whether or not it ends up in the final game.
• Real production experience: milestone-based work inside a documented pipeline.
• A recorded track record: every contribution is logged, so your value and reliability are on record inside the studio.
• Growth inside the studio: proven contributors are first considered for leadership responsibility as the team grows.
• Priority for paid roles: if Rare Castle secures funding, Cohort 2 contributors are first considered for paid positions.
• Rewards: see the terms below.

Reward terms (please read before applying)

This is a volunteer role. There is no salary and no guaranteed payment, now or later.

Rare Castle rewards contributors through profit share and other benefits, at the studio’s discretion, based on the real value a contribution added to the game. Where no real value was added, there is no obligation to reward. That assessment is made by Rare Castle.

To keep this fair and predictable:

• The criteria are published in advance. Did the work ship? Did it meet the quality bar? Did it need major rework? Was it delivered as specified and on time?
• Assessment happens every milestone, not at the end, so nobody works for months on an assumption.
• Everything is logged in the contribution log from day one.

Agreements

Before any work begins, every contributor signs:

• An NDA protecting confidential project information.
• An IP assignment transferring the rights in your work to Rare Castle. This applies whether or not a reward is later granted. It protects the game, and everyone who worked on it, when it is published.
• A contributor agreement stating these terms in writing.

How we work

• Fully remote, in English.
• No minimum hours. Tell us honestly what you can give, and your tasks are sized to fit it.
• Every role has a written role brief, so work never depends on one person being available.
• Tasks are defined clearly enough to describe in a paragraph and check on delivery.
• A short written daily update, and one live team call a week.
• Source control and a shared task board. Every task logged with its hours.
• No crunch. Sustained pressure is a planning failure, and we fix the plan, not the people.
• AI policy: AI-assisted code is allowed if it is clean, commented and documented. AI art is allowed only for internal prototyping (palettes, reference boards). All final art must be original.
• Content standards: mature themes are welcome where they carry meaning. We do not make sexualised content or gratuitous shock content.

Selection process

1. Apply with your portfolio.
2. Portfolio review.
3. A 30-minute interview.
4. A short trial task of about [4 to 6] hours, only if your portfolio has no work yet to show your skills.
5. Agreements signed and onboarding.
6. A probation period covering your first milestone. Public announcement and LinkedIn updates happen after probation is passed.

Places are limited in each phase, because we only take on as many people as the team can genuinely direct.