Meta is offering $1 million across 20 prizes for new and substantially updated VR apps. The 2026 VR Start Developer Competition accepts projects for Quest, Meta VR Glasses, or both. Submissions close on November 18, 2026, at noon Pacific time. Meta expects to announce winners around December 11.
The central rule is about controls. According to the official rules, someone must be able to use the entire experience with their hands without pairing a controller. Developers may add controller support, but it cannot be necessary to finish the experience. Entries fall into gaming, entertainment, or productivity tracks.
Meta is accepting two kinds of projects. A new experience must be conceived and built during the competition window that opened September 24. An existing app can enter if it receives a substantial new feature or mode during that window. The rules give hand interactions, multiplayer, and a mixed reality mode as examples of qualifying updates. Bug fixes, visual changes, and performance work alone do not qualify.
A deadline before the glasses arrive
Meta VR Glasses are due in spring 2027. They use hand and eye tracking as their main controls, and the standard package does not include controllers, as UploadVR reports. The competition's November deadline gives developers a chance to test controller-free ideas months before buyers can get the glasses.
The prize pool includes $100,000 top awards for new and adapted gaming and entertainment apps, smaller top awards for productivity, and several special awards. Developers need Meta VR Start membership by submission time. Entries must include a build that judges can test and a public demonstration video.
