Dec 23, 2025

Redefining the Possible: Announcing the $1.5 Million Meta Horizon Mobile Innovation Winners

When we kicked off the final leg of the 2025 Meta Horizon Creator Competition series, we issued a bold challenge to our community: Push the boundaries of mobile creativity. We looked for creators who mastered touch controls, designed mobile-first interactions, and leveraged the unique portability of smartphones to redefine what Meta Horizon Worlds can be.

The scale of talent we witnessed in 2025 has been breathtaking. Across the five competitions held throughout the year, 5,000+ creators participated across multiple competitions, showcasing the vibrant energy of our building community with more than a thousand worlds created.

Thank you to every creator who submitted an entry this year. By sharing your work, you helped shape the future of mobile social metaverses.

The Mobile Innovation Competition Prize Winners

For our most recent mobile innovation challenge that wrapped up on December 8, we gave creators a simple prompt:

Imagine the future of mobile experiences in Worlds: What does it look like? Your challenge is to build an innovative world, game, or interactive experience that fully harnesses the unique capabilities of Meta Horizon on mobile devices.

Whether through innovative gameplay, seamless user interfaces, or inventive use of mobile hardware, the top entries reveal the blossoming potential of mobile-first design. Check out the three creators who won our top three prizes (all top, no second or third), each taking home a $100k prize.

Ship It!⁠ by MKE_TheGuru

Ship It!⁠ is a box-packing, truck-loading, quick-thinking game where ship happens. Deliver accurate orders and rise the ranks of the package delivery world! Ship It! was spontaneously born with just a little over a week left in the competition. The idea came from pondering the ongoing chaos of real-world package loading during the busy holiday season and thinking, "Hey, there's an idea!" The result is a casual yet addicting world that feels energetic, silly, and satisfying to play on the go.

Play the game⁠ | Watch the demo⁠

Gunship: Quackdown⁠ was inspired by Call of Duty campaign missions that put players in the gunner seat of an AC-130. Players work through 6 missions (with more on the way) from the gunner seat of a gunship, eliminating enemies, vehicles, and buildings. When targets are hard to see, players can switch between White Hot and Black Hot thermal modes to spot them. Starting with the 25mm cannon, players can progress and unlock the 40mm and 105mm cannons to tear through objectives.

Play the Game⁠ | Watch the demo

Spell Swiper: Defend the Kingdom! ⁠By Qol, Alla20011, HaruHiru, Nadir_Salhi, TravisMobergMusic, Ranger777

In Spell Swiper: Defend the Kingdom!⁠ monsters drift toward your castle on enchanted balloons after being launched in the air by a nearby catapult. Each balloon has a weakness though: a shape that you can cast to pop them. Players are challenged to use their fingers to trace shapes like circles, lines, or zigzag shapes, pop balloons, and protect the castle at all costs.

Play the Game⁠ | Watch the demo⁠

Special Category Awards

Beyond our top three prizes, our special category winners are sharing $1.2 million for their outstanding submissions. These awards celebrate the technical and creative milestones that make mobile worlds truly unique and continue to drive innovation in our creator community.

Technical & Interaction Excellence

Best Portrait Mode Implementation ($37,500 each | 5 Winners)

Honoring the most technically effective and user-friendly integration of portrait features.

Wishy Washy⁠ by Domeoc

Boopi⁠ by romanpillai, heynaavi

Spell Sword⁠ by Proto_XR, Takatado

Rummager⁠ by MelodiesDev, Koding, FOAD.gg

The Dead Show: Survival⁠ by ImbaGames

Best Use of Tap-to-Move ($37,500 each | 5 Winners)

Experiences that mastered intuitive one-touch movement controls.

Spirit Riders⁠ by Int10h

Paddle Mayhem!⁠ by limtaeu

KiKi Color!⁠ by nalabubu

Blob Clash Arena⁠ by KuckiVR

Timeline Chaos⁠ by RiftMixer, Zghibirloi, LynxAegon, martinmxr, AndreiSnyte

Best Potential World Broadcast Implementation ($37,500 each | 3 Winners)

Worlds demonstrating outstanding promise for sharing experiences via broadcast.

Rocket Ball: Holiday Season⁠ by NathisGreen, liam.bower

Night City Ride (DRIFT/RACE)⁠ by Quadra01

Sumo Fight⁠ by Lewis_McI, iTroyboy, LewisBanks, Ather199, Troggy007, BearHammerGamesLtd

Engagement & Experience

Best World that Leveraged Noesis ($37,500 each | 3 Winners)

Creative and effective utilization of Noesis UI technology.

Hardy World Poker⁠ by hardywest

The Merchant⁠ by SlayTheGameDev

D-Day Simulator⁠ by Mindway.Studio

Best Social Experience ($37,500 each | 2 Winners)

Engaging and meaningful social interactions using our social APIs.

Beat Battle!⁠ by monoaleli, MagariFun, reledya, EmanueleCarlucciMagari

Food Fighter⁠ by kwondaewan, leejungsu, shinjaeyoung

Can't Put It Down Award ($37,500 | 1 Winner)

The most addictive experience that keeps users coming back for more.

Slime Hunter⁠ by simospark, chesstarvr

Best New User Onboarding Experience ($37,500 each | 2 Winners)

The most intuitive and welcoming entry points for new users.

Disco Flip⁠ by SoakingRich, Irmavep

Raft⁠ by pt.pavlo.tkachenko, artmas666

Creative Craftsmanship

Best Memorable NPC Implementation ($37,500 each | 2 Winners)

Recognizing top-tier embodied and non-embodied character design.

The House of Jeff⁠ by DreamArchitects, LittleCreator

SAVE OCTO⁠ by Ariescar

Best Coziness Themed World ($37,500 | 1 Winner)

Welcoming atmospheres with charming visuals and positive progression.

Dream Delivery⁠ by SpaceGlitterUnicorn, PigeonNo12

Best Clothing Creations ($37,500 each | 2 Winners)

Enhancing world experiences through creative avatar fashion.

Nonna Hexagona's Pizza-Palooza⁠ by Ongoose

Y2K Jump⁠ by iwantomakeyourich, booninthemetaverse, yaleryn

Best Winter/Holiday Addition ($37,500 each | 2 Winners)

Creative seasonal areas integrated into broader, diverse environments.

Retro Christmas Cookout - HK Tea Cafe Chaos⁠ by hongkongxrmuseum

HORIZON GUYS - CHRISTMAS EDITION⁠ by ApoloStudios, J.Developer, Omibit

Judges’ Choice & Community Honors

Judges’ Choice Award ($37,500 each | 3 Winners)

Awarded to entrants who demonstrated uniqueness and innovation beyond the norm.

Clash of Hands⁠ by jackmw94

Bug Smash!⁠ by Vicentekk, Tumbak7

Pineapple Strike!⁠ by speed.inertia

Creator Community Favorite ($37,500 | 1 Winner)

The ultimate peer-recognized honor, voted on by the Creator Community itself.

Cat Cafe Manager Idle⁠ by natashagubernov

The Future is Bright

After five weeks of prototyping, iteration, and polish, the mobile worlds built for this challenge are helping set a new standard for how we collaborate, play, and create on the go. Thank you to everyone who participated in 2025. We can’t wait to see what you build in the new year!

To learn more about mobile world design best practices, check out our creator documentation.

Want to be among the first to hear about the latest creator updates? Check out the Meta Horizon release notes, subscribe to our monthly newsletter⁠, and follow us on X⁠ and Facebook⁠.

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