Building a game studio from the ground up looking for co-founders and collaborators to build something ambitious together
Hey everyone,
I'm based in Iraq and I'm in the early stages of founding an independent game studio. I'm not looking for employees. I'm looking for co-founders people who want to build something real from the ground up and own a piece of what they help create.
There's no salary right now I want to be fully transparent about that. What I'm offering is genuine equity in the studio, real leadership roles, and the chance to be part of something that hasn't been done in Iraqi or regional game development before.
If this succeeds and I believe it will we all succeed together.
WHAT WE'RE BUILDING
A third-person action RPG with deep narrative, faction warfare, and supernatural horror set in a modern world. The full concept will be shared privately with serious applicants under a mutual NDA. What I can say publicly:
1- Heavily story and lore driven with a living, expanding universe
2- Multiple factions with distinct ideologies, abilities and aesthetics
3- Combat inspired by the best modern action titles
4- Co-op and PvP multiplayer including one of the most original multiplayer mechanics in recent memory
5- Low-poly stylized visual direction — achievable for a small team, designed to age well
6- 15–25 hours of story content with live universe expansion post-launch
7- Long term IP potential beyond games into animation, comics and merchandise
The concept is fully developed. The lore, world rules, faction systems and gameplay pillars are all documented. This isn't just an idea — it's a foundation waiting for the right people to build on it.
WHO I'M LOOKING FOR
I need 11 people to complete the founding team. Based in Iraq or willing to work remotely with an Iraq-based studio. You do not need to be a professional. You need to be passionate, consistent, and willing to dedicate real time to growing into your role.
ENGINEERING
Multiplayer / Networking Programmer — 1 person
Title: Lead Engineer & Co-Founder
The most technically demanding role on the team. Responsible for co-op, PvP and a highly original multiplayer system built in Unreal Engine 5. Any networking or programming experience even hobbyist level is a starting point.
UE5 Gameplay Programmer — 2 people
Title: Senior Game Engineer
Core game systems combat, abilities, AI behavior. Start with Blueprints, grow into C++. If you've built anything in UE5 or Unity, even a small personal project, that's enough to start
ART
Lead Character & Creature Artist — 1 person
Title: Art Director & Co-Founder
Leads the visual identity of all characters, creatures and faction designs. Blender and/or ZBrush. Strong creative vision matters as much as technical skill here.
Character & Creature Artist — 2 people
Title: Senior Character Artist
Building the player characters, faction operators and enemy roster alongside the Art Director. Dedication to improving matters more than current skill level.
Animator — 2 people
Title: Senior Animator
Character and creature animation using Blender and Cascadeur. One animator will focus on combat, one on everything else. Combat animation experience or interest is a strong plus.
Level Designer — 2 people
Title: Senior Level Designer
Building and populating the game world urban environments, supernatural spaces, faction bases. One designer plans and blockouts, one builds and populates. Blender and UE5 based.
DESIGN & NARRATIVE
Narrative Designer / Lore Writer — 1 person
Title: Narrative Director & Co-Founder
This world has deep theological, political and mythological layers already fully established. I need someone who lives for worldbuilding and can write compelling dialogue and story beats. Strong Arabic and English writing ability preferred.
UI/UX Designer — 1 person
Title: UI Director
Faction interfaces, HUD design, inventory and cosmetic store systems. Figma-based to start, implementing into UE5 over time.
OWNERSHIP & ROLES
This is a real studio with real equity distribution. Everyone who joins at the founding stage receives a genuine ownership stake. Leadership roles are not honorary titles they come with actual creative and production authority in their domain.
The studio will be founder-led with myself holding majority ownership and final creative direction. Co-founder roles go to the Lead Engineer, Art Director and Narrative Director — the three pillars the studio is built on. All other founding members receive meaningful equity stakes that reflect their contribution and commitment.
Full equity structure discussed privately with serious applicants.
WHAT THIS ACTUALLY IS
Co-founder equity in the studio you help build
- A real leadership title and creative authority in your domain
- Full creative collaboration — your ideas shape the game
- A structured roadmap with real milestones — this isn't a dream project that never ships
- A crowdfunding plan once we have a vertical slice demo — that's when revenue begins
- Long term IP expansion potential beyond games
- The chance to be part of building something genuinely new in Iraqi and regional game development
🛠 TOOLS WE'RE USING
1- Unreal Engine 5 (free)
2- Blender (free)
3- ZBrush (or Blender sculpting to start)
4- Substance Painter
5- Cascadeur (free tier)
6- Git + GitHub for version control
7- Notion / Obsidian for documentation
8- FMOD for adaptive audio
9- Figma for UI design
All free versions or free tiers available to start learning immediately.
HOW TO APPLY
DM me with:
- Which role you're interested in
- Your current skill level honestly — beginner is completely fine
- Anything you've made or worked on, even personal projects
- Why you want to co-found a studio from the ground up
- How many hours per week you can realistically dedicate
No portfolio? Tell me what you're learning and why you want in. Passion and consistency matter more than experience right now. Full concept details and equity structure shared privately with serious applicants after an initial conversation.
Iraq has never had a studio attempt something at this scale. That's not a reason it can't happen it's a reason it should.
Let's build it.
[DM open — Arabic and English welcome]