Meta Launches $1M Competition for Hand-tracked VR Glasses Apps

Meta announced a developer competition at its annual conference today, offering $1 million in prizes to boost the app library for Meta VR Glasses ahead of their 2027 launch.

The Meta VR Start Developer Competition runs until November 18th, 2026, with individual prizes ranging from $20,000 to $100,000. Winners will be announced on or around December 11th, 2026. The company is accepting submissions from new and existing projects in entertainment, gaming, and productivity categories.

For gaming submissions, Meta is prioritizing genres suited to seated play without controllers: puzzle, strategy, casual, social, and narrative experiences. All games must be "fully usable with hands, end-to-end," though Touch controller support remains optional.

Meta VR Glasses rely on onboard hand and eye-tracking as their primary control method, though they do support Quest's Touch Plus controllers. The headset is priced at $1,300 and will ship in Spring 2027.

Developers can prototype using Quest 3 or platform tools including Meta XR Simulator (available in Unity and Unreal), Meta Spatial Simulator, and Immersive Web Emulator. Since Meta VR Glasses run the same operating system as Quest, existing Quest development experience transfers directly. Meta says competition visibility on the Store helps small teams without marketing budgets gain discoverability and credibility when pitching projects or recruiting collaborators.