META HORIZON CREATOR COMPETITION 

GAME DESIGN OFFICIAL RULES

THIS CONTEST IS OPEN ONLY TO MEMBERS OF THE META HORIZON CREATOR PROGRAM (“MHCP”) THAT MEET THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA LISTED BELOW.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.

INTERNET ACCESS, META ACCOUNT, AND MHCP ACCESS ARE REQUIRED TO PARTICIPATE.

IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ THESE OFFICIAL RULES, WHICH ARE A CONTRACT, CAREFULLY. WITHOUT LIMITATION, THIS CONTRACT INCLUDES INDEMNITIES TO THE SPONSOR FROM YOU AND A LIMITATION OF YOUR RIGHTS AND REMEDIES. BY PARTICIPATING, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THESE OFFICIAL RULES AND REPRESENT THAT YOU SATISFY ALL OF THE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

1. OVERVIEW 

The Meta Horizon Creator Competition: Game Design  Contest (“Contest”) is sponsored by Meta Platforms, Inc., 1 Hacker Way, Menlo Park, CA 94025 (“Sponsor”), and challenges creators to design and submit a comprehensive pre-production packagedesign a production-ready game from the ground up by submitting a comprehensive pre-production design package.

Eligible entrants can enter this Contest as an individual or a Team (defined below) during the Entry Period as further described below. These Official Rules (“Official Rules”) govern participation in the Contest. 

This is only a high-level summary of the Contest; read through these entire Official Rules to make sure you understand the details.

2. DATES & TIMING

Entry Period: Jun 8, 2026 10:00 AM PST – Jun 22, 2026 6:00 PM PST 

Judging Period: Jun 23, 2026 10:00 AM PST – July 7, 2026 11:45 PM PST 

Winner Announcement: On or after July 10, 2026 

Prize Delivery: Prizes will be delivered within forty-five (45) business days following the Winner Announcement, subject to the following requirements (including the winner’s timely provision of all required information and documentation and the absence of force majeure circumstances).

3. ELIGIBILITY 

Entry and participation in this Contest is open only to individuals and Teams as defined below. As of the start of the Entry Period (as defined above), all Entrants (as defined below) whether an individual or member of a Team must:

a) be legal resident of one of the following eligible jurisdictions: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada (excluding Quebec), Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Poland, S. Korea, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, UK, United States, Vietnam. 

i) only selected creators are eligible in these jurisdictions: Argentina, Czech Republic, India, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Philippines, S. Korea, Singapore, Vietnam. 

b) be at least eighteen years of age and the age of majority in their jurisdiction of residence; 

c) have an active and valid Meta account; and 

d) be a current, active member of the Meta Horizon Creator Program as of June 1, 2026 PST and in good standing at the time of entry and at the time of prize fulfillment.

Businesses or organizations that are politically affiliated (all as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion) are not eligible to participate in the Contest. An association of between two (2) and ten (10) individuals that does not constitute a legally recognized entity, provided that each natural person comprising such association and meets the eligibility criteria listed above, can submit Entries and are referred to herein as a “Team.”

Team participants must appoint and authorize one individual (the “Representative”) to represent, act, and participate, on their behalf. By entering on behalf of a Team, each Representative represents and warrants on behalf of their Team that they are authorized to act on behalf of their Team. Sponsor shall have no liability for any Representative who acts on behalf of a Team.

Entrants may not be under any legal or contractual obligation that would prohibit their participation in any Contest. Any individual for whom participation in this Contest would mean a violation by them of any applicable law or of any agreement to which they are a party is ineligible to participate. Government and political officials, and employees, officers, directors, members, managers, agents, and representatives of Sponsor, or any other entities participating in the design, promotion, marketing, administration, or fulfillment of this Contest, or any of their respective corporate partners, parent companies, divisions, subsidiaries, affiliates, successors in interest, and advertising, promotion, and public relations agencies and any family (i.e., spouse, partner, parent, legal guardian, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, or in-law) or other member of the same household (whether or not related) (“Released Parties”) are also not eligible to enter or win this Contest.

Entry Limit. Each individual is limited to submitting one (1) Entry in this Contest. For the avoidance of doubt, an Entry is submitted either (i) by an individual on their own behalf, or (ii) by a Team Representative on behalf of a Team. Participation as a non-Representative Team member does not constitute submitting an Entry.

Permitted Participation Scenarios. Subject to the one-Entry limit above, an individual may participate in this Contest in any of the following ways:

(i) as a solo entrant, submitting one Entry on their own behalf;

(ii) as a solo entrant who submits one Entry on their own behalf and also participates as a non-Representative member of one or more Teams (because non-Representative membership does not count as an Entry); or

(iii) as a Team Representative, submitting one Entry on that Team’s behalf (and optionally also serving as a non-Representative member of other Teams).

Prohibition. An individual may not both submit an Entry as a solo entrant and serve as a Team Representative, as this would result in two Entries being attributed to that individual. Each individual may serve as the Representative of only one (1) Team.

Any individual or Team (including each Team member) that enters or takes steps to participate in this Contest is referred to in these Official Rules as an “Entrant.”

4. HOW TO ENTER 

During the Entry Period, eligible Entrants will be invited to design and submit a comprehensive pre-production package in one of three genres: (1) Survival & Resource Management; (2) Simulation & Management; or (3) Tower Defense & Strategy. 

Entrants can submit a design package to the Contest by following the steps below:

a) Design a mobile game in one of three genres and prepare a complete pre-production design package consisting of four required artifacts: a Game Design Document, Player Journey Map, Visual Concept Package, and Production Plan.

b) Register on Devpost: From May 28, 2026 until the end of the Entry Period, go to the Devpost competition page at https://mhcp-game-design.devpost.com/. Click on “Join hackathon”. If you don’t have a Devpost account or aren’t signed in, you’ll need to create one for free or log in to access the submission page.

c) Submit Your Mobile Game Design: Make sure to complete all required fields on the “Start project” page during the competition submission window and adhere to the specified requirements, including uploading your four required artifacts.

Successful completion of the steps above, together with all requirements stated in Section 5, including the associated game design document, player journey map, visual concept package, production plan, and all other Contest-related material or information submitted by an Entrant, constitutes an “Entry”. All Entries, and elements thereof, must comply with the Entry Requirements listed in Section 5 below to be considered for this Contest. 

Entries must be submitted in full (all steps above must be completed) by Entrant during the Entry Period in strict accordance with the instructions and restrictions in these Official Rules and any other instructions that Sponsor may provide through its authorized representatives or otherwise. Entries that are not actually completed and received by Sponsor during the Entry Period will not be considered for the Contest. Purported proof of entry (such as, without limitation, a screenshot of your purported entry) does not constitute proof of actual entry for purposes of this Contest. Purported entries that are incomplete, received outside the Entry Period, or contain obscene, offensive, or any other language or imagery communicating messages inconsistent with the positive images with which Sponsor wishes to associate itself (all as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion) will be void. Those who do not abide by these Official Rules and the instructions of Sponsor and its representatives and provide all required information may, in Sponsor's sole discretion, be disqualified, any purported entry by such Entrant void, and Entrant may be excluded from future participation in the MHCP. Any Entry that is infringing, fraudulent, forged, altered, incomplete, lost, late, misdirected, mutilated, illegitimate, incomprehensible, or garbled will not be accepted and will be void. Entry made by someone on behalf of any other Entrant or any entity or group, made by another on your behalf (with the exception of a Team Representative), or originating at any online service other than as specifically described above (including, without limitation, through a commercial promotion subscription, notification, or entering service) will be declared invalid and disqualified for this Contest. RETAIN A COPY OF YOUR ENTRY AND ALL CONTENT SUBMITTED DURING THE CONTEST, AND ALL RECORDS OF YOUR PARTICIPATION. SPONSOR IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR PROVIDING A COPY OR REPORT OF ANY ELEMENT OF PARTICIPATION.

5. ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

Each Entry must meet all of the following requirements, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion, or the Entry may be disqualified:

Submission  Requirements

a) The Game Design Document must describe a complete core loop: a repeatable cycle of player actions that forms the primary gameplay, with one or more forms of meaningful progression. 

b) The submission must be original to the Entrant. Designs previously entered into any other competition are not eligible. All content must be original or use assets the Entrant has rights to.

c) The game design must fall within one of the following genres, as further described on the competition website https://mhcp-game-design.devpost.com/: (1) Survival & Resource Management; (2) Simulation & Management; or (3) Tower Defense & Strategy. Entrants must select one genre at the time of submission.

d) All submission artifacts (Game Design Document, Player Journey Map, Visual Concept Package, Production Plan) must be in English. 

Submission Fields on Devpost

All required items added to the Submission of the Entry on Devpost which includes:

• A single file no larger than 35MB of each of the following four (4) deliverables: 
  • Game Design Document (5-7 pages, PDF): Game concept, core loop, progression systems, retention mechanics, and design rationale. 
  • Player Journey Map (1-2 pages, PDF or image): A visual flowchart of the first 15 minutes of gameplay showing session beats, decision points, difficulty curve, and emotional arc.
  • Visual Concept Package (up to 10 pages, PDF): Creative direction including character/world concepts, mood boards, color palette, UI wireframes, and key screen mockups. 
  • Production Plan (1-3 pages, PDF): Build sequencing, MVP scoping, technical dependencies, and testing approach .

Disqualification

Any Entry that fails to meet the Entry Requirements (this Section 5) or Content & Legal Requirements (Section 6), or that violates any other provision of these Official Rules, may be disqualified at Sponsor’s sole discretion. 

Without limiting the foregoing, the following will also result in disqualification: 

• Entrant submitted more than one Entry (second Entry disqualified; first stands);
• Duplicate submission - same game design submitted by multiple creators (all duplicate Entries disqualified except the first received);
• Entrant does not clear sanction screening.
• Entrant submitted submission artifacts (Game Design Document, Player Journey Map, Visual Concept Package, Production Plan, or any element thereof) containing hidden or embedded instructions, prompts, or text designed to influence, manipulate, or bias automated evaluation tools or AI-assisted review systems used in the judging process. This includes but is not limited to: concealed instructions in document metadata, hidden text layers, white-on-white text, invisible formatting, or PDF metadata that attempt to direct an evaluation system to alter its assessment of the Entry. 

6. CONTENT & LEGAL REQUIREMENTS

Each Entry and all elements thereof must comply with the following content and legal standards. These requirements are designed to ensure that all submissions are lawful, respect third-party rights, and are suitable for public presentation and promotion in connection with the Contest. Failure to comply with any of the following may result in disqualification at Sponsor’s sole discretion:

a) Must not include: Any malware, spyware, viruses, or similar harmful code or content; Any content that is false, fraudulent, deceptive, misleading, defamatory, libelous, disparaging, harassing, threatening, profane, obscene, pornographic or otherwise objectionable.

b) Must be entirely in the English language.

c) May not mention or depict any identifiable person other than Entrants.

d) Must not infringe, misappropriate, plagiarize, or violate any rights of any third-party including, without limitation, copyright, trademark, trade secret, or rights of privacy or publicity.

e) Must not contain or describe any harmful or illegal activity or content or in any way violate any federal, state, or local laws, rules, or regulations.

f) Must be suitable for presentation in a public forum.

g) Must not create or imply any association between Sponsor and any individual, entity, or anyone else or his, her, or its products and services.

h) Must not contain any commercial or corporate advertising, recognizable branded products, or commercial artwork.

You agree that your participation in this Contest and agreement to these Official Rules will not violate any agreement to which you are a signatory or party and that no such agreement otherwise limits your ability to participate in this Contest or grant the rights granted by you in these Official Rules.

You agree to indemnify the Released Parties against any loss or expense that the Released Parties may sustain or incur on account of any and all claims from any third-party for any use by any Released Party of the Entry authorized pursuant to these Official Rules.

Sponsor may at any time disqualify, remove, delete, edit, or restrict access to any Entry, in whole or in part, that violates these Official Rules, the Meta Community Standards, and/or other applicable policies.

Entries must be made available free of charge and with sufficient access until the Winner Announcement to enable viewing, evaluation and use by Sponsor and Judges. Once the Entry Period has ended, you may not make any changes or alterations to your submission until the judging has concluded and the winners have been announced. Entrants must at all times comply with the letter and spirit of the Meta Horizon Creator Program Terms, Supplemental Meta Platforms Technologies Terms of Service and Meta Terms of Services, and any other use terms, policies, documentation, and other guidelines applicable to any platforms used to develop, host, operate, test, distribute, and display any Entry or to administer the Contest. This includes the Devpost Terms of Service, which provide additional terms for your participation in the Contest and your use of the Contest website. The Devpost Terms of Service are incorporated by reference into these Official Rules. If there is a conflict between the Devpost Terms of Service and these Official Rules, these Official Rules shall control with respect to this Contest only.

Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any Entrant from the Contest if in Sponsor's sole discretion the Entrant or Entry does not comply with the Entry Requirements or if Entrant does not comply with any other requirement of these Official Rules.

7. WINNER SELECTION & NOTIFICATION

Sponsor reserves the sole right to determine the eligibility and judging methodologies for all submissions. This process may utilize expert panels, peer review, automated AI-driven analysis, or any combination thereof to ensure efficient, fair, and objective evaluation. Eligible Entries will be evaluated based on the Judging Criteria listed below by a panel of experts (“Judge(s)”) approximately during the Judging Period. Judges will select twenty-two (22) winners across each genre category and also Special Award prizes. The Judges also have discretion to award additional discretionary Special Awards prizes based on the same criteria.

Potential Winners will be notified via email and/or the MHCP Discord between Judging Period and Winner Announcement.

Judging Process

• Phase One (Eligibility + AI-Assisted Ranking): Devpost will screen for completeness (all four required artifacts present, file requirements met). Entries will be checked against the Disqualification Criteria in Section 5. AI-assisted evaluation tools will be used to assist with preliminary ranking of submissions; however, all advancement decisions will be reviewed and confirmed by qualified human reviewers. Submissions will be screened for attempts to manipulate automated evaluation systems, including embedded instructions or prompt injection, which will result in disqualification per Section 5. The competition team will review rankings and determine which submissions advance to Phase Two.
• Phase Two (Meta Judges): Meta judges will review and evaluate the shortlisted submissions . Each judge will independently score entries. Prize winners, including special award category winners, will be selected from this evaluation. Entries will be evaluated based on the following criteria (the “Judging Criteria”)

Judging Criteria

• Design Innovation — 25%: Is the concept genuinely original? Does it push beyond a vanilla genre implementation? Is there a clear player value proposition: who is this game for, and why would they choose to play it?
• Coherence & Feasibility — 20%: Do all four artifacts tell a consistent, buildable story? Does the visual direction match the design? Does the production plan match the ambition? No contradictions between what's promised and what's specified.
• Design Depth & Systems Thinking — 20%: Are the game's systems interconnected? Is the player journey well-reasoned with progression that sustains interest beyond the first session? Does the design show evidence of thinking through how players engage over time?
• Production Readiness — 20%: How actionable is the Production Plan? Is the scope realistic? Could you take this document and start building without needing to re-design core systems?
• Visual & Creative Direction — 15%: Is the art direction compelling and cohesive? Does the visual identity serve the gameplay rather than just look good in isolation? Is there a recognizable aesthetic point of view?

In the event of a tie, it will be resolved by Judges' vote. Each potential Winner, all natural people who are members of a winning Team (as determined and requested in Sponsor's sole discretion) may be required to complete, execute and return a form presented by Sponsor and other documents (collectively, the “Winner Documents”) according to Sponsor's instructions. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in disqualification from the Contest and forfeiture of any prize potentially won. The Winner Documents are each subject to verification by Sponsor and may require the Entrant to provide a copy of government-issued identification card or number therefrom. If any prize, prize notification, or other Contest-related communication is returned as undeliverable or if a selected potential Winner cannot be reached or does not respond as instructed after Sponsor has attempted to notify that potential Winner, that selected Winner may be disqualified and an alternate winner may be selected (time permitting and in Sponsor’s sole discretion). Sponsor will not be obligated to pursue more than two (2) alternate winners for any reason.

8. PRIZES, QUANTITY, AND APPROXIMATE RETAIL VALUE (“ARV”)

Limit one (1) prize per Entry. Prizes will be awarded as follows:

Total ARV of all prizes: Up to $250,000 USD.

Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible Entries received during the Entry Period and the skill of the Entrants as evaluated against the Judging Criteria.

If a Team Entrant wins, the prize will be awarded to the Representative. Sponsor is not responsible for a potential Winner's inability to accept or use the prize for any reason. Prize details will be decided at Sponsor's sole discretion. No more than the stated prizes will be awarded. Sponsor will not replace any lost, mutilated, or stolen prizes or prize elements or any prizes that are undeliverable or do not reach a Winner because of an incorrect or changed contact information. If a Winner does not accept or use the entire prize, the unaccepted or unused part of the prize will be forfeited, and Sponsor will have no further obligation with respect to that prize or portion thereof. No transfers, prize substitutions, or cash redemptions will be made, except at Sponsor's sole discretion. Winners are strictly prohibited from selling, auctioning, trading, or otherwise transferring any part of the prize, except with Sponsor's permission. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute any prize or portion thereof with another prize of equal or greater value for any reason.

Prizes will be delivered to the Entrant, if an individual, or to the Entrant's Representative, if a Team. It will be the responsibility of the winning Entrant's Representative to allocate the prize among their Team’s participating members. A valid bank account may be required for the winner(s) of Prizes valued at one thousand ($1,000) USD or more. Where applicable, Sponsor shall be entitled to deduct and withhold from any payments as required under applicable tax law. All taxes are the sole responsibility of the Winner. If applicable, Winners of prizes valued at $600 or more will receive an IRS form 1099 or form 1042.

9. PRIVACY AND DATA

In order for Sponsor to administer the Contest, evaluate, display, and communicate with you about an Entry, conduct marketing and promotion of the Contest, Horizon, and Entries, verify and announce Winners, fulfill prizes, and comply with applicable law, Entries (including any personal data provided in the Entry and/or relating to your Meta accounts), will be collected and/or used and shared by, to, and among Sponsor and with third parties. By entering and participating in this Contest, each Entrant hereby consents to have your Entry used as described above. Entry information received by Sponsor will be treated in accordance with the Supplemental Meta Platforms Technologies Privacy Policy at https://www.meta.com/legal/privacy-policy/. Entrants can access, delete, or correct personal data received by Sponsor by viewing their respective policies and following the instructions provided.

Information collected from Entrants on the Devpost platform is subject to Devpost’s Privacy Policy, which is available at https://info.devpost.com/privacy.

10. PUBLICITY; ENTRANTS OWNERSHIP OF ENTRIES AND LICENSE GRANTED

LICENSE: All Entries and Projects remain the intellectual property of the individuals or organizations that developed them. By entering, except where prohibited by law, each Entrant grants to the Released Parties the irrevocable, transferable, sublicensable, absolute right and permission to use, edit, modify, copy, reproduce, and distribute the Entry, in whole or in part, in perpetuity and in any medium, in any language, throughout the world, for the purposes of evaluating Entries, administering this Contest, for internal research and development purposes, and for any marketing or promotional purposes, without further review, notice, approval, consideration, or compensation beyond the opportunity to win a prize in this Contest.

By entering, each Entrant also grants to the Released Parties a non-exclusive, transferable, and sublicensable right and license to use, publish, post, edit, modify, copy, reproduce, and distribute their name, voice, face, likeness in any medium, in any language, throughout the world, for the purposes of evaluating Entries, administering the Contest, announcing Winners, and for any marketing or promotional purposes.

Each Entrant waives and releases the Released Parties from any and all claims based on “moral rights” or “droit moral” or unfair competition with respect to Sponsor’s exploitation of any Entry.

11. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

Each Entrant hereby acknowledges and agrees that the relationship between the Entrant and each of the Released Parties is not a confidential, fiduciary, or other special relationship, and that the Entrant's decision to participate in the Contest does not place any of the Released Parties in a position that is any different from the position held by members of the general public with regard to elements of the Entry, other than as set forth in these Official Rules.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, EACH ENTRANT AGREES TO RELEASE, HOLD HARMLESS, AND INDEMNIFY EACH OF THE RELEASED PARTIES FROM AND AGAINST ANY LIABILITY WHATSOEVER FOR INJURIES OR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND SUSTAINED IN CONNECTION WITH THE ACCEPTANCE, USE, MISUSE, OR AWARDING OF A PRIZE OR WHILE PREPARING FOR, PARTICIPATING IN, AND/OR TRAVELING TO OR FROM ANY PRIZE OR CONTEST-RELATED ACTIVITY.

12. DISPUTES / GOVERNING LAW

Except where prohibited, as a condition of participating in this Contest, each Entrant agrees that any and all disputes must be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action. This Contest will be governed under the internal laws of the State of California, USA. Any legal actions will be brought exclusively in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California or a state court in San Mateo County, California.

If any provision of these Official Rules is held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect to the fullest extent permitted by law.

12. ADDITIONAL DISCLAIMERS

The Released Parties are not responsible and/or liable for: participation submitted by illegitimate means; any lost, late, incomplete, illegible, unintelligible, garbled, mutilated, or misdirected participation; any error, omission, interruption, defect or delay in transmission or communication; viruses or technical or mechanical malfunctions; or any force majeure event.

14. GENERAL RULES

Sponsor’s decisions will be final in all matters relating to this Contest. Sponsor reserves the right to restrict or void participation from any IP address if suspicious participation is detected. Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any Entrant who attempts to tamper with or impair the administration, security, fairness, or proper play of this Contest.  Sponsor reserves the right to cancel, suspend, or modify the Contest, or any part thereof, if fraud, technical failures, human error, or any other cause beyond Sponsor’s reasonable control corrupts or impairs the administration, security, fairness, or proper play of the Contest. In such an event, Sponsor may, in its sole discretion, award prizes from among all eligible, non-suspect Entries received prior to and/or after such action, or as otherwise deemed fair and appropriate by Sponsor.

15. WINNERS' LIST / OFFICIAL RULES

To find out who won, visit the Devpost competition page at https://mhcp-game-design.devpost.com/ following the Winner Announcement date. For a copy of these Official Rules, visit the Devpost competition page at https://mhcp-game-design.devpost.com/rules and see the Rules section. 

16. SPONSOR

Meta Platforms, Inc., 1 Hacker Way, Menlo Park, CA 94025 USA

©2026 Meta