Sep 9, 2025

Vidyuu: How a Worlds studio leveled up through community and collaboration

When you see the future, you just have to act on it. That’s what happened when Alex Chandler, or Laex05, first experienced Worlds after spending years building and modding in Minecraft. With two years of funding banked, Alex quit his job and went all-in on the Worlds platform. He shares his appreciation for the fact that “You can work really hard in Worlds, then live off the residuals,” and indeed Alex’s journey is a testament to what’s possible when an entrepreneurial mindset meets a community-centered approach to creating. It was a journey that would lead him to found the creator-led production studio Vidyuu⁠.

From video tutorials to immersive experiences

Alex’s background in video production laid the foundation for Vidyuu. As he flew around the world shooting educational videos, Alex noticed a shortage of tutorial content focused on Worlds. With a down-to-earth and deeply sincere nature that drew others in, and a genuine passion for the Worlds platform, Alex started making his own content. Eventually, he’d film Worlds tutorials for his YouTube channel⁠ almost daily.

We wanted to show off what was possible and let people take advantage of it.

Alex Chandler, Vidyuu

As he began producing daily video content, Alex and his team documented every aspect of Worlds, becoming subject matter experts and evangelists for the platform’s capabilities. Their goal: to help others unlock the creative potential of Worlds. Soon, Alex’s output caught Meta’s attention. A partnership followed, and Alex grew from educational content about Worlds to also creating immersive Worlds with his team at Vidyuu.

This transition marked a turning point. As Vidyuu got off the ground and began developing its first experiences, the studio’s unique structure and payment model would change everything for Alex —– and set a new benchmark for success in Horizon Worlds. Growth would follow: at its peak, Vidyuu worked with 70 Worlds creators. Humble as ever, Alex would joke that he “hired a boss because [he] didn’t want to be in charge.”

Murder Manor: A blueprint for viral success

Alex’s early impressions of Worlds were based on previous experiences with other platforms. He loved building custom characters and quests in Minecraft. When he discovered Worlds, he felt it was “so much better” in terms of the Meta Horizon’s freedom and flexibility. Still, Vidyuu faced challenges in its early days to generate steady revenue. At one point, Alex was forced to lay off a significant number of staff, facing significant declines in revenue.

In a last ditch effort, Alex and the Vidyuu team came together to pour everything they learned about World building and games into Murder Manor⁠, a thrilling game of cat-and-mouse within a haunted mansion filled with secrets.

Their efforts paid off: Murder Manor became Vidyuu’s biggest hit, and one of the most popular experiences in Worlds.

I published a demo world and it was seeing a small, but consistent amount of players — that was the signal to move fast to publish the full release of [Murder Manor].

Alex Chandler, Vidyuu

What was the secret behind Murder Manor’s success? Built with over 1,000 hand-placed objects and optimized with small textures, the game’s popularity and replay value is all in the details: the labyrinthine manor through which players escape is intentionally designed to avoid any dead ends, ensuring constant movement and suspense. The game’s simple, intuitive and endlessly playable structure with rapid-fire rounds has made it a favorite among younger and older players alike.

To keep players coming back, Alex and the Vidyuu team implemented a daily quest system, login streaks, and an ingenious leaderboard. Ranks appear above player’s heads in red or gold nametags, acting as a visual form of bragging rights for the most engaged players.

Scaling a studio with purpose

Today, the core Vidyuu team includes five team members. They just completed a summer internship with five engineering students, many of whom were recruited through New York City-area community colleges. True to his origins, Alex took his interns’ education seriously. Vidyuu’s internship program began with four weeks of training, as interns worked through the “Think Like a Programmer⁠” tutorial series. Only then do they transition into hands-on production.

Alex’s three-tier compensation model is unconventional, but empowering. Interns earn $25/hour, creators start at $125/hr, and subject matter experts earn $250/hour. Half of Vidyuu’s revenue is split evenly until all team member hours are paid, and when there is extra money to go around, bonuses are also provided. The other half goes to Alex and various business expenses. Being public about his payment structure is important to Alex, and he freely describes it as maximizing upside for creators while positioning Vidyuu to reap the rewards as well when the studio’s creations gain traction. Which, spoiler alert, they did.

I’ve talked publicly about our payment structure – it’s great for creators who want to run their own studios.

Alex Chandler, Vidyuu

Collaborations and community building

To build on the success of Murder Manor, Alex went all-in on the Worlds creator community. It was an obvious pivot for someone so consistently drawn to helping others and teaching over the course of his entire journey. Alex threw himself into a mentorship role as part of the Meta Horizon Creator Program. It would end up being one of the most valuable and significant experiences of his career, and lead to partnerships with three standout creators and some of the freshest, most genre-defining experiences in all of Worlds.

Power Wash!⁠ with @Ash.xo: This collaboration began during Alex’s time as a Worlds mentor. Ash approached him with a unique twist on a familiar concept: a car-cleaning game. While others had tried similar ideas, Ash’s approach focused on “cleaning the gunk off” rather than scrubbing dirt off a texture. The result was a tactile, satisfying mechanic that took 2–3 months to build and recently won second place in a competition. The game’s success sparked an ongoing creative partnership between the two.

Outbreak! Survival Tag⁠ with @RexRod: Alex first met RexRod through Rex’s early Metahome build, which left a lasting impression for realism and detail. For Outbreak, RexRod had already built a detailed map using trimsheets and vertex painting, and Alex brought the gameplay to life by coding a dynamic infection mechanic: players get infected and spread the virus. The addition of NPCs added depth and replayability, and Alex even created a tutorial to help others implement similar features.

POWER UP⁠ with @J-Thizz: This game emerged from a mentorship-turned-apprenticeship. J-Thizz pitched Alex on the idea, and Alex was hooked. The concept was simple but addictive: one player gains a superpower, and others must defeat them to claim it. Inspired by viral mechanics in worlds like “Kaiju City Showdown⁠,” the game explores the thrill of power transfer and competitive escalation.

While Alex did not have the full capacity to provide coding support, he enlisted the help of U4E-A, another now veteran Worlds creator. Over the course of the two month build, Alex provided U4E-A (who originally only had Codeblocks experience) with specific guidance on core mechanics, helping him learn TypeScript while building the game. Ever an advocate of democratized knowledge, Alex also found opportunities throughout the process to create video tutorials relevant to the Worlds community.

Everyone has a special task they can do. It’s about creating a place to belong.

Alex Chandler, Vidyuu

Mentorship is a powerful catalyst. Each collaboration showcased Alex’s ability to mentor creators while empowering them to lead. In many cases, Alex’s technical expertise became a springboard for opportunity: by teaching others how to implement complex features and bring their visions to life, Alex not only elevated the quality of the projects but also helped his collaborators grow professionally. Both Power Wash! and Outbreak have since become popular Worlds in their own right, a testament to the strength of these partnerships. Notably, U4E-A’s journey from Codeblocks to Typescript developer culminated in a job opportunity.

What’s Next for Vidyuu

Today, Vidyuu’s revenue comes entirely from Worlds. Alex still owns video production gear, but now relies on simple setups like webcams and OBS to produce his Worlds tutorials. His studio thrives on bonuses from the Meta Horizon Creator Program, in-world purchases, and competition winnings. His collaboration on Power Wash! with Ash.xo⁠ netted them a cool $60K for winning second place in the Elevate Your Mobile World! competition, and he and the Vidyuu team have made submissions to the Open Source Champions competition as well.

Alex’s’s latest Worlds project, Slumber Party, is a completely different experience compared to the rest of Vidyuu’s' Worlds portfolio, but it comes from a special place. Inspired by Alex’s own daughter, Slumber Party is a cozy hangout space filled with hidden secrets and roleplay props for players to explore and interact with. Built on a modified beach house, it’s designed for long-term engagement and emotional connection.

Your blueprint for building a creator business

The Vidyuu story offers a roadmap for aspiring creators:

Spot the gaps and act fast: Identify missing content or experiences in the platform and move quickly to fill them with high-quality, engaging creations.

Make gameplay intuitive and rewarding: Use intentional environment design and retention mechanics like daily quests, login streaks, and leaderboards to keep players coming back.

Mentor to multiply impact: Share your technical skills with collaborators to unlock new opportunities—for them and for you.

Prototype with purpose: Use demo Worlds to test ideas and gauge player interest before scaling up.

Let community feedback shape development: Use player behavior and input to refine and evolve your Worlds for deeper engagement.

Design your payment model to empower: Create transparent, tiered compensation structures that reward skill and contribution while aligning incentives across your team.

With the Meta Horizon Creator Program, creators like Alex are turning passion into sustainable careers. Ready to build your own universe? Join the Meta Horizon Creator Program. Plus, stay up to date on the latest creator news by reading our weekly release notes and following us on X⁠ and Facebook⁠.

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