Inside the Worlds Creator Academy at Meta HQ

Leading up to Meta Connect last month, the buzz around Meta HQ in Menlo Park was undeniable. With so much chatter, energy, and excitement in the air, you might’ve thought you’d stumbled into a block party or a convention.

In reality, those echoes of enthusiasm marked the latest Worlds Creator Academy, a two-day in-person bootcamp designed to help creators publish their first mobile world on Meta Horizon.

Fresh off the heels of the inaugural Worlds Creator Academy in New York City this August, the Menlo Park edition brought together nearly 100 first-time world builders and new members of the Meta Horizon Creator Program (MHCP) from every corner of the globe. Over two days, creators gained hands-on experience, swapped insights on world discovery and monetization, and celebrated milestones together. And to cap it all off, creators got to hit our (finally useful) gong every time a new world was published.

Dive in to explore more details and top worlds published at the event, and don’t forget to fill out our interest form to be considered for future creator events.

Similar to any great game, day one opened with some Level 1 onboarding. Meta team members set the stage with an overview of the latest opportunities in Horizon, deep dives into audience segments, and practical guidance on building worlds efficiently.

From there, creator experts SpaceGlitterUnicorn, PigeoNo12, king_of_Miami, MikeyAce, and Ashes2Ashes2 led two guided build-alongs. Attendees experimented with the Worlds Desktop Editor, put generative AI tools to work, and learned how to integrate features like leaderboards. By the end of the afternoon, creators were as eager to keep building as they were to grab a bite. Thankfully, happy hour provided fuel for both body and imagination before shifting gears into day two.

Day two set off to explore building and growing an audience. Attendees workshopped with template worlds that make it easier to jump right into retheming and creative adjustments without losing time to setup or troubleshooting. If you’re looking for easier ways to jumpstart your world building workflow, be sure to check out our latest template world Sim Tycoon.

Next up were speaker sessions on discovery and monetization in which Meta team members shared proven tactics that have helped creators turn their worlds into thriving businesses on Meta Horizon, including strategies to optimize in-app purchase strategies and maximize bonuses.

Finally, creators got unstructured build time to put it all together: refining their worlds, testing their ideas, and transforming rough concepts into playable, published experiences (and hitting the gong, of course).

The bootcamp wrapped with a publishing party and joint ceremony alongside MHCP Summit attendees. Creator experts recognized standout worlds built during the event, but nearly every creator left with something to celebrate: a published mobile world and a stronger connection to the community that’s shaping the future of experiences on Meta Horizon.

When it was all said and done, more than 60 worlds were published during the bootcamp. Check out our creator experts’ favorites:

In Locked In, players experience a simulation of the psychological horror of locked-in syndrome. Finding themselves in an unfamiliar environment, one thing is certain: something is definitely wrong. With no one around, the only recollection players have is the accident that left them this way.

Who will you be: matchmaker or menace? In Inside and Out, players get to play cupid as they work together to write pick up lines that will help romantics find love, or sabotage date night in New York City.

Chicken Chaos is the definition of simply addictive fun. You find yourself in a field enclosed by an industrial farm. The goal? Collect speedy chickens as they try to escape your clutches. Use speed boosts to catch up to them and climb up the leaderboard.

In a game reminiscent of the types of challenges you might encounter in a Mario title, Color Switch cranks up the intensity with a series of colored platforms that disappear at random, with only one color remaining each round. If you fall, you die—but if you stay on the selected color, all of the coins can be yours.

After two days of learning, building, and publishing at the Worlds Creator Academy, attendees got an inside look at what’s next during Meta Connect. Product experts and leaders unveiled a slate of fresh updates for Worlds through keynotes and speaker sessions covering everything from tools to discovery and monetization.

With the new Meta Horizon Engine, customizable avatar clothing, and powerful generative AI tools, creators can look forward to publishing faster, earning sooner, and delivering richer, smoother, and more high-fidelity experiences than ever before.

If you missed the livestream or want a refresher on everything we shared at Connect, be sure to read the blog post, check out the Connect session playlist, and catch up on our weekly release notes.

The momentum doesn’t stop here: more Creator Academies are on the way. If you’d like to level up your skills and experience the magic of the creator community in person, join the MHCP and fill out our interest form to be considered for future events.