Design with a Retention-First Mindset | Growth Series, Part 4
In this final session of the growth series, Meta Horizon Start Mentor Tevfik discusses how to transition from simply gaining views and installs to building a lasting player base through a retention-first design mindset. The presentation highlights the unique nature of VR as a social space where players return not just for gameplay, but for belonging and self-expression. This session was recorded in March 2026 as part of the Meta Horizon Start program. 🎬 CHAPTERS 00:00 - Introduction to growth series part 4: Retention-first design 00:43 - Defining the problem: Why growth without retention is just “churn.” 02:44 - VR as a “place”: Understanding why players return to socialize and show off 03:28 - The Retention Triangle: Direction, Identity, and Return 03:48 - Part 1: Direction—Implementing social daily challenges 04:30 - Part 2: Identity—The power of avatars, cosmetics, and visibility 05:41 - Case study: The success of the indie social VR game Blob Town 06:26 - Part 3: Return—Creating habits through weekly resets and update rewards 07:13 - The importance of “Social Moments” and the 3-second reaction rule 08:36 - Practical systems: Using "Drop Codes" to drive returns and community growth 10:55 - The Full Loop: Social moments as the engine for the player journey 12:34 - Action Items: Homework for implementing retention systems in 7 days 📚 RESOURCES ➡️ Meta Horizon Developer Forum: https://communityforums.atmeta.com/category/horizon-developer-forum ➡️ Developers Blog: https://developers.meta.com/resources/blog/ ➡️ Meta Quest Developer Hub: https://developers.meta.com/horizon/documentation/unity/ts-mqdh/ 🔗 CONNECT WITH US Sign up to get the latest news from Meta Horizon: https://developers.meta.com/horizon/newsletter 💡 LEARN ABOUT THE META HORIZON START PROGRAM The Meta Horizon Start program provides intermediate and advanced developers with hands-on support and expert guidance to accelerate app development. Join a thriving community to access the tools and go-to-market resources you need to successfully deploy and grow your app on Meta Horizon OS. Apply to Start today: https://developers.meta.com/horizon/discover/programs/start
Turn Social Views Into a Lasting Community | Growth Series, Part 3
Are you struggling to turn viral VR views into an active, lasting community? In this session of the Meta Horizon Start program’s Growth Series, Meta Horizon Start Mentor and experienced VR developer Tevfik dives deep into the shift from simple visibility to true player retention in social VR games. Learn why most VR games fail not because they are bad, but because they disappear after the first impression. Tevfik shares a comprehensive five-step system to build a dedicated player base, covering everything from creating roles and moderator grinding to leveraging live streams, content creator programs, and consistent community events. Discover how to transform your VR game from just an experience into a thriving social system. This session was recorded in March 2026 as part of the Meta Horizon Start program. 🎬 CHAPTERS 00:00 - Introduction and Background in Social VR 01:02 - The Retention Problem in VR Development 01:44 - Shifting Focus to Human Progression and Community 02:27 - Step 1: Creating Identity and “Original Gangster” (OG) Roles 03:55 - Utilizing Early Access and Founders Bundles 04:32 - Step 2: Progression through Moderator Grinding 06:27 - Step 3: Establishing Presence via Live Streaming 07:36 - Step 4: Implementing a Content Creator Program 09:11 - Step 5: Hosting Consistent Community Events 10:01 - Case Study: Breaking CCU Records with a DJ Event 11:07 - Summary: Building Your VR Game as a Social System 📚 RESOURCES ➡️ Meta Horizon Developer Forum: https://communityforums.atmeta.com/category/horizon-developer-forum ➡️ Developers Blog: https://developers.meta.com/resources/blog/ ➡️ Meta Quest Developer Hub: https://developers.meta.com/horizon/documentation/unity/ts-mqdh/ 🔗 CONNECT WITH US Sign up to get the latest news from Meta Horizon: https://developers.meta.com/horizon/newsletter 💡 LEARN ABOUT THE META HORIZON START PROGRAM The Meta Horizon Start program provides intermediate and advanced developers with hands-on support and expert guidance to accelerate app development. Join a thriving community to access the tools and go-to-market resources you need to successfully deploy and grow your app on Meta Horizon OS. Apply to Start today: https://developers.meta.com/horizon/discover/programs/start
Live Events: Why, When, & How (Start Workshop)
Hosted by Gabe Heiland • March 2026 • Meta Horizon Start Overview In-game live events are a focused set of activities and rewards intended to drive engagement—specifically targeting acquisition, retention, or monetization. While many developers think of massive holiday updates when they hear “live event,” there are actually several low-cost, high-impact ways to run events. In this session, Meta Growth Consultant Gabe Heiland breaks down the six core event types, the best practices for designing them, and how to measure their success. Watch this part: 00:00 The 6 Event Types (Minor and Major) Minor Events (Low implementation cost, habit-forming) Server Booster Event: Data-driven tuning levers like “Double XP Weekend” or boosted crafting rarities. These are very lightweight to set up and are a great first event for a game. They should be rotated weekly at most so players don't become accustomed to the boost. Daily Goal Event: Layering a server-wide goal on top of your existing daily quest system to focus players on a specific mode or activity for a small reward. Leaderboard Event: Injecting competition into your game over a short period. Once the infrastructure is built, these can be reused weekly to drive engagement and monetization, even in single-player games. Major Events (High effort, high return on investment) Community Event: Collective objectives that require social cohesion (e.g., the entire player base must complete 10,000 matches to unlock a reward). These are viewed as very fair but usually require an out-of-game communication channel like Discord. Progression Event: Players fill a progress bar with active play and are rewarded at specific milestones. These ask a lot of players, so they require a cooldown period between runs. Seasonal Event: Massive, highly themed events aligned with real-world holidays. These drive the highest impact but are expensive to produce and carry the risk of only happening once a year. Watch this part: 02:15 Best Practices for Live Events Scheduling and Cadence In VR, a two-week cadence targeting weekend play sessions (aiming for about 4 hours of play per week) has proven highly effective. You want to build predictability to establish trust (players know an event will happen) while using the specific content of the event to provide surprise and delight. A good update rubric to aim for is: Daily: Progress to be made Weekly: Something new to see Monthly: Something new to do Quarterly: Something that changes how they engage Define KPI Goals First Before designing an event, decide if you are targeting acquisition (requires strong theming and key art for social media), retention (requires frequent, focused play sessions), or monetization (often features a competitive element where few players get all rewards). Set clear goals, like “100% of spenders and 20% of non-spenders should finish the event,” to guide your tuning. Lower the Barrier to Entry Players should be able to enter the event immediately after onboarding. The event should be front-and-center upon login, and the first reward moment should happen within minutes of playing. Always end events with a clear wrap-up, paying out any unused event currency. Expand the Player’s Comfort Zone Use events to incentivize trying new characters, modes, or underutilized content. However, avoid “anti-social mandates”—don’t force players to use a character that only one person per match can select, as it prevents friends from playing together. Watch for Exhaustion Player exhaustion happens when high-engagement events run too frequently without breaks. Team exhaustion happens when developers are constantly building bespoke content. To combat both, rotate your event types (alternating high and low effort) and templatize your events so they require minimal changes between reruns. Monetization Should Be an Accelerator, Not a Paywall Paradoxically, ensuring that non-spenders can earn all event rewards through heavy engagement actually improves monetization. When an event feels fair and skill-based, players are more willing to spend money to accelerate their progress. Avoid over-rewarding standard game currencies, and consider offering items that complete a set over multiple events. Watch this part: 08:50 Measuring Success To know if your event worked, you need to track specific KPIs. If you don't have your own in-game telemetry, you can use the pre- and post-event data available in the developer portal. Key benchmarks to watch for: Monthly Active Users (MAU): Strong live events can drive 3× or more MAU compared to surrounding months. Session Duration and Logins per Day: Both should increase during an active event. Day 7/Week 1 Retention: Should spike from your baseline during the event and settle back to normal afterward. Daily Revenue: Can see anywhere from a 1.5× bump for a minor weekend leaderboard up to a 600× increase for a massive holiday event. Content Consumption: The percentage of players who reach the end of the event and claim all rewards. This is your primary guide for tuning future events. Watch this part: 18:50
How I Turned VR Views Into a Real Community
A lot of VR developers today are getting views. TikTok clips go viral. Funny gameplay spreads. People watch. But then…Nothing happens. No players. No community. No retention. I’ve been there too. So instead of guessing, I started building a system inside my own VR projects to turn views into an actual community. This is what actually worked. I reached ~500 members in the first 3 months as a solo developer—and it’s still growing. And in this blog post, I will show you how! The Hard Truth Most VR games don’t fail because they are bad. They fail because they disappear after the first impression. You might even go viral and still end up with zero players. Because: Views don’t stay. Systems do. The Core Idea Views don’t convert by themselves. You need progression for humans, not just gameplay. Think of your community like a game: Players should join → progress → earn → belong Step 1 — The OG Hook (Early Identity) When I started: I posted short clips (simple, raw, not perfect) I pushed one message: “Join now and become an OG.” And early joiners got: OG Discord role Early identity Insider feeling 👉 Why this worked: People don’t join communities. They join identity. Step 2 — Moderator Grind Next, I introduced something very important: 👉 A Mod Role to grind for Players could earn it through activity Contribution = status Now, Discord wasn’t just a chat. It became a place where you can level up socially. Step 3 — Exploit Platform Behavior (Live Streams) This was one of the biggest breakthroughs. Instead of only posting videos, I created a constant presence. Long YouTube live streams Even automated replays Always something “happening” Why this works: Platforms reward presence, not perfection. 👉 YouTube pushes live content heavily 👉 VR gameplay is perfect for passive watching Your game becomes something people run into, not search for. That changes everything. Step 4 — Content Creator Program Then I built this system: Content Creator → Post a video Elite Creator → 1,000 views Gold Creator → 5,000 views Rewards: Roles Cosmetics Recognition Players stopped being just players. They became: Creators, marketers, and community leaders Step 5 — Live Events = Real Conversion Finally, I focused on something most devs ignore: 👉 Live moments I ran: Playtests DJ events Movie nights Discord hangouts At one point, I noticed something interesting: When nothing was happening, nobody joined. The moment something live started, people showed up instantly. Because VR is not content. VR is presence. People don’t join because your game looks cool. They join because: Something is happening right now, and they don’t want to miss it. The Real System (Simplified) What I ended up building was this: Content → Identity → Progression → Creation → Events → Community Each step feeds the next. The Mistake Most VR Developers Make Most developers do this: Post update Share feature Drop the Discord link But players don’t care. Because: There is no identity No progression No reason to stay What Actually Works If you want to turn views into a real VR community: Give early identity (OG roles) Add community progression (mod/status grind) Use platform advantages (live streams) Turn players into creators via Content Creation Programs Create live moments both in Discord & Game (events) Final Thought Your VR game is not just a game. It’s a social system. And if you design it right, you don’t need to chase players anymore. Your community brings them to you.Crafting Social Content Players Want to Watch (Growth Series Part 2)
Hosted by Tevfik • March 2026 • Meta Horizon Start Overview As developers, we often assume that posting game updates or announcing new features will naturally excite our community and attract new players. The reality is that standard development content rarely travels far online. To achieve true organic growth, your game needs to be more than just fun to play—it needs to be fun to watch. In this session, VR developer Tevfik explains the core principles of “watchability” and how to design mechanics that naturally encourage players to create and share clips of your game. Watch this part: 00:00 The Problem with Traditional Updates When you push an update, the real question isn’t “What feature did we add?” but rather, “Would someone send a clip of this update to a friend?” If the answer is no, your game will struggle to spread on social media. Successful social VR games recognize that their community is their most powerful marketing engine, and they design their gameplay to fuel that engine. Watch this part: 01:00 What is Watchability? Watchability is the secret sauce that turns gameplay into shareable content. Watchable gameplay consistently creates moments that are: Surprising Emotional Funny Chaotic When these four elements combine, players naturally want to hit record. Watch this part: 01:45 Designing for Clips: Three Key Elements 1. Social Chaos Unpredictable player interactions create the best content. Mechanics that lead to physics accidents, unexpected teamwork, hilarious betrayals, or genuine panic (like monsters that kill you instantly) result in players screaming and laughing. These moments are incredibly entertaining for viewers, not just the players experiencing them. 2. Emotional Reactions VR is a uniquely powerful medium for content creation because player reactions are highly visible through avatar body language. When a player experiences panic, laughter, or surprise, viewers instantly understand the emotion of the moment. Strong avatar expressiveness amplifies this effect. 3. The Stage Effect Great social VR environments function like performance stages. By providing the right tools and spaces, players will naturally perform stunts, tell jokes, complete challenges, and create memorable social moments. They transition from simply being players to becoming content creators inside your game. Watch this part: 04:00 Building the Viral Loop and The Watchability Test When you successfully implement watchable mechanics, you create a powerful viral loop: A unique gameplay moment occurs -> A player records a clip -> The clip spreads online -> New players discover the game -> The community becomes your marketing engine. Before you spend time developing and shipping a new mechanic, run it through the Watchability Test: “Would someone clip this? Or would someone send this moment to a friend?” If the answer is yes, that mechanic has strong viral potential and is worth your time. Remember, your game isn’t just competing with other VR titles—it’s competing with everything else on the internet for a viewer’s attention. Watch this part: 06:15
🛠️Build Your Social Media Foundation | Growth Series, Part 1
Hosted by Start Mentor Tevfik • March 2026 • Meta Horizon Start Overview Many developers “build silently,” then launch with no audience. Just like an app, social media is something you can plan, build, and keep refining. This workshop is about building a repeatable social media foundation for VR games—starting early, posting consistently, and turning attention into a community (especially via Discord). Timestamp: 0:00 The 5 Key Mistakes (and what to do instead) Mistake #1: Starting social media too late What it looks like: You see your social media and promotion as a final step of development rather than a separate project you're developing. Many developers follow the classic flow of build → launch → promote. Why it's a problem: Your development phase is already full of moments people want to follow—progress, surprises, failures, “first time it works.” What to do instead: Create accounts at Day 0 and start sharing your development progress immediately, even if it's rough. This helps community members feel like they're a part of your development process. Mistake #2: Only posting “big updates” What it looks like: You focus entirely on development, waiting until major milestones or entire portions of your game are complete to post. Why it's a problem: Most social media algorithms reward consistency over occasional posts and engagement spikes. Long gaps hurt your momentum and discoverability on most platforms. If you wait too long between posts getting your game just right, you may sacrifice your ability to organically reach new potential players. What to do instead: Post small updates frequently and consistently. Establish a sustainable schedule for yourself and add posts in between if you have more to share. Mistake #3: Trying to be everywhere What it looks like: You create accounts across as many social media platforms as you can, either reusing content or trying to generate new content for each platform. Why it's a problem: Each platform behaves differently and appeals to a slightly different community, and maintaining consistency on too many different surfaces often leads people to spread their resources too thin. What to do instead: Start focused. Think about where your ideal community would spend most of their time online and what types of content tend to do well in those spaces, then tailor your content to those platforms. For example, you might use platforms like Youtube and Tiktok to promote short-form content and Discord for a community home. Once you've developed a rhythm on these platforms, consider branching out to include 1 or 2 others, but don't try to win every platform at once. Mistake #4: Posting like a company What it looks like: You tend to use more formal or corporate language in your social media or dev blog posts. For example, when you post an update, you may use "we" when referring to yourself or your development team. Why it's a problem: Posting like a company, especially when you're a solo developer, creates distance between you and your community. Using more personal language allows your community to feel they're a part of your development journey and gives them incentive to follow along for the ride. What to do instead: Use "I" to talk about your progress and achievements, be transparent about your team size, and talk directly to your players. Mistake #5: Waiting for perfection What it looks like: You tend to over-edit videos or wait for "polished" content or development milestones in order to post, and as a result, you post less often. Why it's a problem: As we covered in Mistake #2, delaying posts can hurt your discoverability on many platforms, but this goes deeper than just your discoverability. Most people drawn to short-form content are more interested in a few compelling seconds over a more in-depth and polished milestone video. Authentic, fast clips often outperform overly produced content, especially when you’re still early in development–bugs, prototypes, and experiments are compelling. What to do instead: Post more frequently and lower the bar for your production. Timestamp: 0:45 What Do I Post? If you’re stuck on ideas, the answer is simple: your dev work is the content. Examples Gameplay clips (even early) Bugs/funny moments Prototypes and tests Concept art drops Screenshots of new scenes/features “Then vs now” progress comparisons Workflow tip: even a few images (e.g., a new monster or asset) can become a short video using simple templates. Timestamp: 4:38 Platform and Format Advice Frequency (especially when starting from zero) Posting once a day is a strong baseline early on, because attention compounds—and it’s harder to get discovered when your account is empty. Format Choices On-screen text, voice, face-cam, avatars are all great ways to capture attention. What matters most is establishing clarity fast. A strong video often communicates its main idea within the first 10 seconds. Personal vs “Official” Accounts Generally, it’s good practice to have a dedicated, game-focused account that clearly communicates to the audience that you are speaking as the official voice of your project (e.g., GameNameOfficial). You can also choose to run a second “personality” or “experiment” account for looser, more creative posts. While operating both accounts does mean more work, operating both types of account allows you to lean into the type of content we discussed in Mistake #5, which can increase your reach. Discord: Convert Attention into Community Views and followers are not the same thing as a community. The goal of your social media presence should be to land people somewhere more persistent. A community Discord is an excellent place to establish a “home base” where players can stick around, talk to each other, and build momentum with you. Workflow tip: Converting social media followers into Discord members is especially powerful–community members can help the server feel alive and even share the operational load. For more information on building a strong foundation on Discord, see Tevfik’s previous session here. Time Management and Getting Help Moderation: Recruit player-moderators, trusted community members can take on moderation responsibilities. Editing support: If you’re finding that video editing is increasing your workload, consider finding a helper like a friend or family member, or adding a video editor to your team. Having someone to manage your social media for you can reduce the amount of time you spend task switching and can free up a considerable amount of your time, letting you focus on the parts of game development that you enjoy. Tooling: If you’re struggling to edit down longer footage into clips or decide which clips would be interesting, consider using AI clipping tools like OpusClip which can generate shorts from raw footage with minimal video editing lift. Practical Outreach on TikTok Spend time in your niche: Start real conversations with other developers in your space by commenting on their posts and videos. TikTok enables more direct early interaction through comments and DMs, especially before your account is large enough to enable direct links in your posts. Recap Don’t build silently–share your process to build your audience while you build your game Start social early Post small updates consistently (not just big milestones) Don’t try to be everywhere—start with TikTok + YouTube Post like a human (use “I” rather than “we”) Don’t wait for perfection—bugs/prototypes are good content Focus on converting followers into Discord members Homework: post something today (or create the account today and begin training the algorithm by watching and engaging with your niche)
What VR Developers Can Learn From Animal Company’s Viral Growth
In the past, growing a game meant running ads, contacting influencers, and pushing constant updates across social media. Today, the growth dynamic is shifting. Some of the fastest-growing games are not succeeding because they post more marketing content. They are succeeding because their gameplay naturally creates content that players want to share. One of the most interesting recent examples of this approach is Animal Company, a VR title that achieved remarkable organic growth in a short period of time. Within its first six months, the game reportedly generated: 1B+ TikTok views ~500,000 peak daily active users 9× growth in paying users Instead of relying heavily on traditional marketing channels, the game’s design itself became the marketing engine. For VR developers, this case offers several valuable lessons. I will share them in this blog post. 1. Design for Watchability, Not Just Playability Game developers traditionally optimize for playability: mechanics, progression, difficulty, and retention. But in today’s attention economy, there is another critical design factor: Watchability. Watchability means designing moments that are entertaining even to someone who is not playing the game. Animal Company’s gameplay consistently produces moments that work well on platforms like TikTok, Reels, and Shorts. These moments often involve: chaotic multiplayer interactions unexpected physics outcomes exaggerated emotional reactions social improvisation between players When these moments happen in VR, they are naturally clipped and shared by players. The result is organic discovery. Players become marketers simply by sharing their gameplay experiences. 2. Social Chaos Creates Shareable Moments Many successful VR experiences lean heavily into social unpredictability. Animal Company embraces this philosophy by building systems that encourage chaotic, funny, or surprising interactions between players. These include elements like: physics-driven movement expressive avatars playful or comedic animation systems environments that encourage experimentation The goal is not to script funny moments. The goal is to create conditions where funny moments are likely to happen. When these unpredictable situations occur, players instinctively record and share them. 3. Emotional Reactions Translate Well to Video VR has a powerful advantage compared to traditional games: embodied reactions. When players are immersed in VR, their responses are often more physical and emotional. Animal Company leverages this by using: spatial audio cues environmental tension sudden encounters or surprises These mechanics create intense player reactions — screams, laughter, panic, excitement. For social platforms, these reactions are extremely compelling to watch. A viewer might not fully understand the game mechanics, but they instantly understand someone screaming in VR. That emotional clarity makes clips far more shareable. 4. Turn Players Into Performers Another key idea behind the game’s success is treating environments as stages rather than just levels. Players are given tools and systems that allow them to perform: comedic skits stunts chaotic multiplayer challenges improvised social moments In other words, the game encourages players to create content inside the game world. This transforms the typical player into something more powerful: a content creator. And when hundreds or thousands of players begin creating content, the game’s reach expands far beyond the original player base. 5. Build a Creator Ecosystem Games that grow through social media often develop strong relationships with their most active creators. Animal Company reportedly implemented an invite-only creator space within its community — a Discord group where top creators can communicate directly with the development team. This type of ecosystem has multiple benefits: Creators receive recognition and support Developers gain direct feedback from influential players The community feels more connected to the game’s evolution Over time, this creates a feedback loop where creators help drive discovery, while the developers support the creators’ ability to produce content. 6. Community Feedback as a Development Engine Another notable aspect of the game’s development approach is its responsiveness to the community. Frequent updates and a close relationship with the player base allow developers to quickly react to emerging ideas, memes, or trends within the community. When players feel that their ideas can influence the game, they become more engaged — and more invested in the ecosystem surrounding the game. In many cases, community culture becomes just as important as the gameplay itself. 7. Monetization After the Community Forms One of the most interesting strategic choices was delaying monetization early in the game’s lifecycle. Rather than introducing monetization immediately, the focus was first placed on strengthening the social gameplay loop and building a loyal community. Once players were emotionally invested in the game and its culture, customization options and cosmetic purchases became more attractive. This approach often leads to healthier long-term monetization because spending is driven by expression and identity, not pressure. The Bigger Lesson Animal Company highlights an important shift in how games grow today. Successful games are no longer only designed to be fun to play. They are designed to be fun to watch. When gameplay naturally produces moments that players want to share, marketing becomes embedded directly into the experience itself. Instead of competing purely through paid acquisition, games can grow through the creativity of their own communities. For developers, this raises an important design question: If a player records 30 seconds of your game, would someone else want to watch it? If the answer is yes, you may already have the foundation for organic growth. If you're interested in learning more about designing games that generate shareable content, I’ll be discussing practical strategies and examples in my upcoming session: Craft Social Content Players Want to Watch | Growth Series, Part 2 📅 March 13, 2026 🕚 11:00 AM PDT Looking forward to seeing other developers there and continuing the conversation around how games and creators can grow together.Marketing Your Game Without Ads | Fast Essentials
What if your players did your marketing for you? In this Fast Essentials session, Start Mentor Tevfik Ufuk Demirbaş lays out a phased content strategy for VR developers who want organic visibility without expensive ads. You'll see how short-form and long-form content work together to grow audiences, and how in-game recording tools paired with creator rewards keep that growth cycle running on its own. This session was recorded in February 2026 as part of the Meta Horizon Start program. 🎬 CHAPTERS 🕒 00:00: Introduction & The VR Visibility Problem 🕒 02:38: Comparing Short Form and Long Form Content 🕒 05:03: Content Dynamics in VR & Audience Behavior 🕒 07:33: In-Game Tools & The Community Flywheel 🕒 10:15: Actionable Steps & Conclusion 📚 RESOURCES ➡️ Developers Blog: https://developers.meta.com/resources/blog/ ➡️ Meta Quest Developer Hub: https://developers.meta.com/horizon/documentation/unity/ts-mqdh/ 🔗 CONNECT WITH US ➡️ Sign up to get the latest news from Meta Horizon: https://developers.meta.com/horizon/newsletter 💡 LEARN ABOUT THE META HORIZON START PROGRAM The Meta Horizon Start program provides intermediate and advanced developers with the resources, hands-on support, and expert guidance needed to accelerate their app development. Join a thriving community to get the tools and go-to-market guidance you need to successfully deploy and grow your app on Meta Horizon OS. Apply to Start today: https://developers.meta.com/horizon/discover/programs/start
I Built My Social Media Wrong — 10 Mistakes XR Developers Should Avoid
When developers ask how to grow their social media, they usually expect tips about algorithms, marketing tricks, or viral content. But after working on several VR projects and building communities around them, I realized something much simpler: Most growth problems don’t come from the lack of marketing knowledge. They come from basic mistakes developers make early. I made many of these mistakes myself. So instead of sharing “best practices,” I want to share the mistakes I see developers make most often when trying to build a social media presence around their game. If you avoid these, your growth will already be much easier. Mistake #1 — Starting Social Media Too Late A very common pattern: Developers spend 1–2 years building a game in silence, then suddenly create social media accounts when the game is almost finished. At that point, they realize something uncomfortable: No one knows they exist. Building an audience takes time. Sometimes, a lot of time. Social media works much better when the audience grows with the project, not after it. Sharing development early allows people to feel like they are part of the journey, not just customers at the end. Mistake #2 — Trying to Be Everywhere Many developers try to be active on: Twitter / X YouTube TikTok Reddit LinkedIn Discord Very quickly, this becomes overwhelming. The result is usually: inconsistent posting burnout abandoned accounts It’s much better to focus on one or two platforms first and build consistency there. Growth usually comes from depth, not from being everywhere. In my experience, initially, TikTok and YouTube are enough to get started. Mistake #3 — Only Posting Big Announcements Another common mistake is treating social media like a press release channel. Posts look like this: “We are excited to announce our new update!” Then nothing happens for weeks or months. Social media platforms reward consistency, not occasional announcements. Small updates often perform better than big ones: a new mechanic a funny bug a quick gameplay clip a design question These small posts help build ongoing momentum. Mistake #4 — Posting Like a Company Instead of a Human Developers sometimes try to sound “professional.” Posts become very formal and corporate: “We are pleased to introduce our latest feature update.” But social media works differently. People follow people, not companies. A much more engaging approach is simply sharing the real development experience: things that worked things that failed experiments funny bugs Authenticity is far more powerful than polish. Mistake #5 — Waiting Until Things Are Perfect Many developers hesitate to post because something feels incomplete. The UI isn’t final. The animation is temporary. The mechanic still needs work. So they wait. But in reality, social media often rewards process over perfection. Players enjoy seeing: prototypes early ideas weird experiments development struggles These moments make the project feel alive. Mistake #6 — Ignoring Short-Form Video Today, many discovery systems are driven by short video formats: TikTok YouTube Shorts Instagram Reels For games, these formats work extremely well because gameplay is naturally visual. Even very simple clips can perform well: a 10-second gameplay moment a surprising mechanic a funny physics bug Short-form video has become one of the easiest ways for people to discover new games. Mistake #7 — Having No Clear Identity Sometimes developer accounts post a mix of unrelated content: random screenshots occasional updates unrelated thoughts sporadic announcements From the outside, it’s hard to understand what the account is about. Clear identity helps a lot. For example: a VR physics developer a social VR sandbox creator An indie experimenting with weird mechanics When people understand what you are building, it becomes easier for them to follow the journey. Mistake #8 — Forgetting the Community Loop Social media becomes much more powerful when it is not one-directional. Instead of only posting updates, invite players into the process. Simple questions can create engagement: “Which vehicle should I add next?” “What is missing from this map?” “Which mechanic feels more fun?” These interactions help players feel like co-creators, not just spectators. Mistake #9 — Not Creating a Community Space For games, especially, social media is often just the beginning. Platforms like Discord allow players to: give feedback share ideas create content connect with each other Without a community space, many players disappear after discovering the project. With one, they can become long-term supporters and contributors. Mistake #10 — Expecting Fast Growth This may be the most important one. Social media growth is usually slow at the beginning. It often looks like this: Month 1 → a few followers Month 6 → a few hundred Month 18 → real traction Growth compounds over time. Consistency matters much more than quick results. Final Thought If there is one lesson I learned while building games and communities online, it’s this: Social media works best when it reflects the real development journey. Not just the highlights. The experiments. The mistakes. The weird prototypes. Ironically, the moments that feel the least “polished” are often the ones people connect with the most. If you are building something in XR right now, I’d be curious to hear: What social media mistake have you made while developing your project? Let's discuss!
