Meta Launches $1 Million Hands-First VR App Competition
The company has announced a new developer competition focused on “hands-first” Quest and VR Glasses apps. The event offers $1 million in prizes across 20 awards, with individual prizes reaching up to $100,000.
Meanwhile, the VR Start program supports virtual and mixed reality developers through access to developer relations staff, community resources, technical education, mentorship opportunities, software credits, and market guidance. Previously, the program operated under different names as it evolved alongside the VR developer ecosystem.
The latest competition follows a previous developer challenge that focused on entertainment, lifestyle, and gaming applications. Now, the new event expands its focus to include gaming, entertainment, and productivity experiences.
Focus On Natural Hand-Based Interaction
The competition encourages developers to create new apps, adapt existing experiences, or introduce major updates. Additionally, the main goal is to develop “hands-first apps that make interaction more natural and gameplay more intuitive than ever before.”
The “Hard Requirements” are as follows:
- Hands-first: Your experience must be fully usable with hands, end-to-end. Controller support is welcome, but not required. The test is simple: can someone complete the entire experience without ever pairing a controller?
- Policy Compliance: Your experience must adhere to all relevant Meta VR/Start policies and terms (i.e., Meta VR Start Program Terms, Community Standards, Code of Conduct in VR Policy, Developer App Policies, Developer Content Guidelines, and all other Developer Policies).
Furthermore, the competition includes several award categories covering different types of experiences:
- Best New Gaming Experience
- $100,000 Winner
- $50,000 Runner-up
- Best New Entertainment Experience
- $100,000 Winner
- $50,000 Runner-up
- Best New Productivity Experience
- $70,000 Winner
- $35,000 Runner-up
- Best Adapted / Significantly Updated Gaming Experience
- $100,000 Winner
- $50,000 Runner-up
- Best Adapted / Significantly Updated Entertainment Experience
- $100,000 Winner
- $50,000 Runner-up
- Best Adapted / Significantly Updated Productivity Experience
- $70,000 Winner
- $35,000 Runner-up
- Best Social & Multiplayer Experience
- $25,000 Winner
- Best Reason to Come Back
- $25,000 Winner
- Best Accessibility Forward Experience
- $25,000 Winner
- Best Agentic Interaction
- $25,000 Winner
- Best First Five Minutes
- $25,000 Winner
- Boldest Original Concept
- $25,000 Winner
- Judge’s Choice
- $20,000 each for 2 winners
Updates, Entries, And Future VR Support
Developers can submit either brand-new projects or adapted and significantly updated apps. Additionally, qualifying updates may include:
“Implementing hand interactions as a new feature; adding multiplayer support; introducing a mixed reality (MR) interaction mode as a new feature; releasing a new user generated content creation tool.”
Therefore, developers must submit projects by November 18, 2026. Interested creators can enter through Devpost, while developers who are not already members of the VR Start program must apply first.
Preparing For A Controller-Free Future
The competition arrives soon after the announcement of new VR Glasses at Connect 2026. Notably, the device does not include controllers by default and instead emphasizes eye and hand tracking, with optional support for Touch Plus controllers introduced with Quest 3 and 3S.
Furthermore, the device is expected to launch in spring 2027 with a collection of apps and games designed for its controls and physical design. As a result, the competition aims to encourage developers to create experiences that match a more natural style of interaction.
