The vision is no longer private. It has been placed on the table.
We at Rare Castle are proud to announce a major milestone: on 31 January 2026, we officially submitted Project Escher to the PlayStation MENA Hero Project, Sony Interactive Entertainment’s dedicated incubator supporting emerging talent across the Middle East and North Africa.
The submission package included our polished playable demo (vertical slice prototype), a comprehensive pitch deck, the full production roadmap, and all supporting development materials. This marks the culmination of years of independent work — refined into a formal, industry-ready presentation ready for official evaluation.
About the PlayStation MENA Hero Project
The PlayStation MENA Hero Project is an incubator program by Sony Interactive Entertainment that identifies and nurtures promising developers from the MENA region (including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Tunisia, Bahrain, and others). Selected studios receive mentorship, access to PlayStation resources, recoupable development funding (minimum $100,000 USD paid on milestones), global featuring opportunities, and the potential for full publishing by SIE.
In August 2025, the first cohort was revealed — four exciting titles from regional studios: Red Bandits (Team Agenda, Saudi Arabia), Enci’s Solution (Dark Emerald, UAE), The Perfect Run (Lanterns Studios, Tunisia), and A Cat’s Manor (Happiest Dark Corner, Bahrain). All are coming to PlayStation 5 and PC. We are honored to be part of this growing movement celebrating MENA creativity on the global stage.
Project Escher: Our Vision
Project Escher is an episodic cinematic psychological thriller adventure that explores identity, perception, reality, and the fragile boundary between the physical world and the abstract. Inspired by the impossible geometries of M.C. Escher, the game features mind-bending environments, surreal dreamscapes, and a deeply personal narrative that aligns with our studio’s mission to create meaningful “healing games.”
Standout mechanics include:
- A fully reactive dialogue system with contextual character interactions
- An intimate inner-monologue mechanic
- Dynamic vehicle driving, traffic simulation, and interaction systems
- Flexible inventory and environmental interaction tied to story progression
- Symbolic spaces such as “The Palace” — a sanctuary outside conventional spacetime
The game is currently in pre-alpha, with Phase 3 of our six-phase heavy prototyping cycle completed in December 2025, bringing the vertical slice to 50% completion.
Our Journey to This Moment
What began in 2018 as a passionate solo project by founder Mohamed Fawzy has grown through dedication, community support, and relentless iteration. In March 2025 we became an Official PlayStation Partner, and on 11 February 2026 we released the first philosophical trailer for the demo, highlighting the game’s core themes.
This submission moves Project Escher from private creation to official platform consideration — a decisive step forward for our small but determined team.
Looking Ahead
We now await feedback from the MENA Hero Project committee while continuing to advance development. Whatever the outcome, this milestone validates the vision we have poured into Project Escher and reinforces our commitment to delivering a unique, emotionally resonant experience to players worldwide.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to our supporters, volunteers, advisors, and the growing Rare Castle community. Your belief in the project keeps us moving forward.
Stay connected
- Full development roadmap: rare-castle.com/roadmap
- Latest dev logs and progress updates: rare-castle.com/dev-log
The vision is no longer private.
It has been placed on the table.
— The Rare Castle Team
