Real production projects
Embed into real production projects with professional studios and a growth-minded cohort. We provide structured, hands-on support to accelerate your 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. 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. 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
ndustry veterans share practical knowledge in their domain of expertise. 3 lectures per cohort.
Guest lectures
ndustry veterans share practical knowledge in their domain of expertise. 3 lectures per cohort.
Guest lectures
ndustry veterans share practical knowledge in their domain of expertise. 3 lectures per cohort.
Senior engineer lead
You’ll work closely with a handpicked senior engineer, learning organically through day-to-day conversations.
Senior engineer lead
You’ll work closely with a handpicked senior engineer, learning organically through day-to-day conversations.
Senior engineer lead
You’ll work closely with a handpicked senior engineer, learning organically through day-to-day conversations.
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.
What you'll learn and practice
What you'll learn and practice
A highly practical, production-focused supplementary curriculum to make you job-ready, or help you ship your indie project with confidence.
A highly practical, production-focused supplementary curriculum to make you job-ready, or help you ship your indie project with confidence.
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...
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.
Worked/Taught at
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.
Worked/Taught at
Past guest lecturers and the places they've worked at
Past guest lecturers and the places they've worked at
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
Featured projects
Gameplay Prototyping
Game Porting
Unity
Help shape the tense, cooperative core of a 4-player first-person game about surviving a nuclear reactor as systems fail and pressure escalates. You’ll build on early prototypes to refine teamwork-driven objectives, readable interactions, dynamic events, and a grounded, horror-leaning atmosphere powered by lighting and sound. The focus: clear roles, strong communication, and replayable runs where the environment—not monsters—is the threat.
Dates:
Feb 23—May 15, 2026
Multiplayer networking
Procedural generation
State machines & gameplay systems
Gameplay Prototyping
Game Porting
Unity
Help shape the tense, cooperative core of a 4-player first-person game about surviving a nuclear reactor as systems fail and pressure escalates. You’ll build on early prototypes to refine teamwork-driven objectives, readable interactions, dynamic events, and a grounded, horror-leaning atmosphere powered by lighting and sound. The focus: clear roles, strong communication, and replayable runs where the environment—not monsters—is the threat.
Dates:
Feb 23—May 15, 2026
Multiplayer networking
Procedural generation
State machines & gameplay systems
Gameplay Prototyping
Game Porting
Unity
Help shape the tense, cooperative core of a 4-player first-person game about surviving a nuclear reactor as systems fail and pressure escalates. You’ll build on early prototypes to refine teamwork-driven objectives, readable interactions, dynamic events, and a grounded, horror-leaning atmosphere powered by lighting and sound. The focus: clear roles, strong communication, and replayable runs where the environment—not monsters—is the threat.
Dates:
Feb 23—May 15, 2026
Multiplayer networking
Procedural generation
State machines & gameplay systems
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 this for
Students
Work in a studio-style workflow on real production projects, with office hours and code reviews that build strong professional habits early.
Students
Work in a studio-style workflow on real production projects, with office hours and code reviews that build strong professional habits early.
Students
Work in a studio-style workflow on real production projects, with office hours and code reviews that build strong professional habits early.
Students
Work in a studio-style workflow on real production projects, with office hours and code reviews that build strong professional habits early.
New grads
Turn solid skills into credible, job-ready experience by shipping real work, polishing your resume, and practicing interviews with structured feedback.
New grads
Turn solid skills into credible, job-ready experience by shipping real work, polishing your resume, and practicing interviews with structured feedback.
New grads
Turn solid skills into credible, job-ready experience by shipping real work, polishing your resume, and practicing interviews with structured feedback.
New grads
Turn solid skills into credible, job-ready experience by shipping real work, polishing your resume, and practicing interviews with structured feedback.
Hobbyists and career switchers
Break into the industry with proof beyond solo projects by learning production habits in an existing codebase, delivering to constraints, and building a strong portfolio.
Hobbyists and career switchers
Break into the industry with proof beyond solo projects by learning production habits in an existing codebase, delivering to constraints, and building a strong portfolio.
Hobbyists and career switchers
Break into the industry with proof beyond solo projects by learning production habits in an existing codebase, delivering to constraints, and building a strong portfolio.
Hobbyists and career switchers
Break into the industry with proof beyond solo projects by learning production habits in an existing codebase, delivering to constraints, and building a strong portfolio.
Professional game devs
Add sharper resume signals and get out of autopilot through rigorous reviews, deeper technical polish, and direct critique that stress-tests fundamentals and raises your ceiling.
Professional game devs
Add sharper resume signals and get out of autopilot through rigorous reviews, deeper technical polish, and direct critique that stress-tests fundamentals and raises your ceiling.
Professional game devs
Add sharper resume signals and get out of autopilot through rigorous reviews, deeper technical polish, and direct critique that stress-tests fundamentals and raises your ceiling.
Professional game devs
Add sharper resume signals and get out of autopilot through rigorous reviews, deeper technical polish, and direct critique that stress-tests fundamentals and raises your ceiling.
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
Latest events
Latest events
Free, open-to-all events designed to sharpen your skills and boost your job hunt.
Free, open-to-all events designed to sharpen your skills and boost your job hunt.
Resume & Portfolio Review
Free live resume and portfolio review for game programmers, with feedback from director-level industry leaders.
First Saturday of each month
•
2PM—3PM (ET)
RealXP Lab Info Session
Come talk to our team and bring any questions you have about our program.
First Saturday of each month
•
4PM—5PM (ET)
Live Code Review (Unity)
Free live Unity pull request reviews for game programmers, with production-quality feedback from principal-level engineers.
Friday, Jan 23
•
9PM—10PM (ET)
FAQ
Questions we get all the time.
Do you offer scholarships?
Do I need to quit my job or school?
How should I prepare for it?
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?
Stay updated
Be the first to know what's new at RealXP Lab and get practical game dev resources.
Stay updated
Be the first to know what's new at RealXP Lab and get practical game dev resources.
Stay updated
Be the first to know what's new at RealXP Lab and get practical game dev resources.