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.
Is that normal???
HELP! i have been creating clothing since December and was well over the 100.00 threshold mark and am now at 1K$$. Meta has not paide me yet for sold clothing. I clicked on support link and i recieved a message via a legitimate looking email suposedly from a "Brock" that requested social security number and 5 months worth of bank statements in order to get paid. Is this normal? In thr beginning of the discussion i did give up my bank account and routing number (supposedly for them to verify) but none of the other requested info. is THIS NORMAL? OR HAVE I BEEN Hacked? and where/who do i go to to fix this and to get paid? My store is Crystal Haven Gem and Mineral Boutique RaidergirlWeek 49 as a full-time Horizon Worlds Creator
Hey fellow creators, thought this might be interesting to read... Honestly I was overwhelmed by the multi script feature set required to make a system like this work, but this week I finally pulled the trigger. This week I implemented collectible pet companions. What I actually Implemented: Pet duck system where the ducks can be equipped and sit on your shoulder Perk system where ducks have unique player ability enhancements Pet Duck Store UI and Duck Locker UI so you can choose what pet you want to take into the next round. Currency system, where progress in the game rewards you with exponentially greater cash out to spend on more powerful pet ducks. What I learnt: At this later stage in development, adding major features that touch other systems means a wider code base architecture review is needed each time. I found that decisions I made prior, before considering this latest feature, may need to be changed to allow the new feature. The importance of PRD docs as part of the AI assisted coding workflow. Introducing a system of task management in my cursor project allowed much easier onboarding of fresh agents as I continue to wrestle with context window management. Next weeks goals (Well, by this Fri): Some Polish / delayed scope of the pet duck system Daily Login Rewards Game Link: https://horizon.meta.com/world/10241323577005469 Anyone still reading, have you built any similar 'collectible pet' systems yourself?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.🎊 Live Events | When, Why & How
Looking for ways to keep players engaged and coming back to your app? Join Gabe Heiland, Meta Growth Insights Specialist for a practical workshop on designing and implementing live events in your VR games. This session will cover how to make focused changes to gameplay activities and rewards that drive player acquisition, boost retention, and increase monetization in live games. Join on ZoomShorten Time-to-First-Dollar with Meta Horizon Launch Tools
Launching an app on the Meta Horizon Store is multi-faceted; it doesn’t just start on the day of publish. In fact, what you do prior to shipping your app on the Meta Horizon Store is more important than ever, and it demands a strategic launch that’ll help you stand out. A strong pre-launch makes titles easily discoverable before Day 0 and helps sustain momentum afterward. When discoverability is treated as an afterthought, developers tend to face an uphill battle for visibility post-launch. That’s why we’re excited to highlight our new video-enabled educational playbook, designed to help you think about different pre-launch strategies while you're still building and show how to generate anticipation, gather feedback, and drive early adoption. Below, we highlight each launch feature you can leverage, along with a recommended “Golden Path” sequence for effective pre-launch strategies to help you cut your time-to-first dollar. You’ll also get to hear from some other developers who have had success launching with these tools. Let’s dive in. Launch Features: Your Toolkit for a Strong Debut Meta provides a suite of launch features to help you maximize your app’s visibility and success. Here’s how you can leverage each tool: Playtesting: Gather early feedback while you’re still building Playtesting gives you a private space to gather feedback from real users. It’s your chance to validate gameplay, comfort, and performance early so you can refine with confidence. You can think of it as a small, closed test (more like micro-beta) that gives you a read on user preferences, validates core mechanics, and surfaces issues that only show up in the wild. Pro Tip: Start playtesting as early as possible—even before your app is polished. Respond to written reviews to build trust and show you’re listening to your community. "By carefully limiting access during early playtesting for UG, we were able to validate game mechanics, iterate on in-app purchase pricing, and fine-tune the experience to hit our target session length and other critical metrics. That data directly informed our go-to-market strategy. Ultimately, it’s not about whether the studio loves the game; it’s about whether players do. Testing early and often made all the difference." - Spencer Cook, CEO, Continuum "Trusted testers are worth their weight in gold. I’ve seen time and time again the power of having five to ten highly-engaged players playing directly with the developers, and I’d take this over a disparate group of thousands of players any day. The earlier this happens, the better the chances of launch success because our development decisions are grounded in real behavior and not our own assumptions about what players want." - Kyle Joyce, CEO, Enver Studio (Scary Baboon) Coming Soon Pages: Generate anticipation within 180 days of launch Building out a coming soon page lets you showcase your app up to 180 days before launch to help build excitement and provide users with an opportunity to wishlist your title. Keep in mind that a coming soon page is best for capturing interest, not creating it. Most visibility and growth will come from your own marketing efforts off-platform, like social posts, trailers, and community engagement. Pro Tip: A/B test your store assets (key art, trailer, description) to see what resonates with your audience. "The single biggest determinant of a game’s success is pre-marketing. Whether that’s on socials, or Coming Soon pages, you need to be able to drive your community to take an action like signing up for email alerts or a Discord community." - Kyle Joyce, CEO, Enver Studio (Scary Baboon) "Across titles like Starship Troopers VR, Hitman 3 VR, and BEATABLE, the Coming Soon page helped us inform our community and influencers early while capturing wishlists. It’s become a key tool for building awareness and demand well before launch." - XR Games Pre-orders: Secure early sales within 90 days of launch Pre-orders enable users to purchase paid apps up to 90 days before launch, while providing developers with a convenient way to convert interest into committed downloads and generate revenue before release. You’ll need a price, description, and marketing assets to set up pre-orders. "Offering pre-orders for Hitman 3 VR: Reloaded significantly increased launch-day sales by concentrating demand and excitement ahead of release. It gave us a much stronger day-one performance than previous launches." - XR Games Early Access: An open beta for ongoing refinement Launching your app with an Early Access label tells users that it’s still in development, but it also enables you to reach a broader audience, gather real feedback, and allow space to continue refining your app pre and post-launch. Apps best suited for Early Access are stable and enjoyable, but not fully polished. Remember, this is still your only chance to make a first impression, so consider carefully whether your app is ready for an audience. This feature can be especially beneficial for free-to-play (F2P) apps, where lowering the barrier to entry helps you reach more players and build momentum. And since the app is free, users tend to be more forgiving in their reviews. If you utilize the Early Access label, it is your responsibility to communicate what it means to your users. Pro Tip: Once you remove the Early Access label, it’s permanent—plan your transition carefully. "Early access let us grow a passionate community while we were still shaping the game. Their feedback sharpened our priorities and their enthusiasm created a foundation for us to build around." - Johnny Wing, General Manager, Orion Drift "Early access is fundamental to community building and game success. Of course it helps surface critical bugs early on but more importantly it creates a core group of highly invested players. The Quest Store thrives on the network effect. Players want to be the first to discover a game and be the one to recommend it to their friends and take a massive pride in discovering something early." - Kyle Joyce, CEO, Enver Studio (Scary Baboon) "Early access for BEATABLE was critical in building a passionate community before launch. It created early advocates who helped amplify the game organically the moment we went live." - XR Games The Golden Path: Putting it all together for a recommended launch sequence The Golden Path launch sequence can set you up for maximum exposure, interest, and conversions. Using each of these features we’ve covered today sequentially can put you on the path to build an audience early, sustain momentum, and set your app up for a strong debut. In the graphic above, you can see a recommended cadence on when to start leveraging each feature. Remember, this is just a recommendation; you can define your own strategy and determine what makes the most sense for your title. "Meta has created flexible launch paths that let developers choose what best fits their game. For UG, Early Access was the perfect way to set expectations around polish, bugs, and our roadmap toward a full future launch. It invited players to join us early, get excited about the vision, and actively influence what UG is becoming. This approach let us build hand-in-hand with our community and even helped spark a wave of user-generated content as players documented the game’s growth from its earliest days." - Spencer Cook, CEO, Continuum Incentivization and Best Practices Know your audience: We’ve broken down key audience behaviors and motivations that can help you plan effective content and marketing strategies for your VR apps. Reward early adopters: Offer exclusive content, discounts, or early access perks to wishlisters and pre-order customers. Leverage off-platform marketing: Most momentum comes from your own efforts—use social media, communities, and events to drive awareness. Communicate clearly: Use Developer Posts and direct messaging on platforms such as Discord to keep your audience engaged and informed. Measure and optimize: Use integrated analytics to track what’s working and adjust your strategy in real time. Ready to launch? Start building momentum today Don’t let your launch be just another date on the calendar. Utilize launch features and our new resource guide to build momentum, engage your community, and set your app up for lasting success.
