Open Metaverse Hackathon @ The Immersive Commons (GDC Weekend)
Build the open metaverse. Own what you create.
The early open web standards enabled anyone to create websites, plug-ins, and online businesses, the new open metaverse standards allow anyone to create the tools, places, and AI products that will power interoperable spatial experiences without proprietary lock-in.
AR glasses are coming. Billions of people will use them daily within a decade. The infrastructure that powers spatial experiences will be built in the next few years.
It will either be open like the web, or closed, like current siloed 'Metaverse' and UGC gaming platforms.
The companies with the most resources want to build proprietary systems. They have the money, the hardware, the marketing. What they don't have is you.
When the World Wide Web was young, it succeeded because thousands of individuals chose to build on open standards instead of closed platforms. The spatial internet needs the same choice made again, by a new generation.
This hackathon is where that starts.
Join us. Build something that matters. Own what you create.
Build with Open Standards
The open metaverse standards are the foundational protocols for the spatial internet. Think HTTP, HTML, and CSS, but for 3D worlds and AR glasses. Just as open web standards enabled anyone to create websites without proprietary lock-in, these standards provide the building blocks for creators to build interoperable spatial experiences across any device.
This hackathon is the ground floor. The chance to shape how billions of people will navigate, create, and interact in spatial computing before corporate silos define the rules.
You're not just writing code for a weekend project. You're potentially defining the infrastructure for how humanity experiences digital spaces for the next 30 years.
Build with the first set of open spatial web standards:
Tools that work across any AR glasses or VR headset
Services that connect to the spatial internet without platform lock-in
Cross-platform avatars, spatial UI components, developer tooling
New primitives we haven't imagined yet
Learn more: https://omb.wiki/en/hackathon
Why This Matters
Companies and creators can't build on platforms they don't control.
The spatial internet requires what the web has: open standards that anyone can implement, on infrastructure anyone can operate, with content anyone can create.
This hackathon is an invitation to start building tools and services for an open spatial internet that works across devices, platforms, and providers.
You own what you create. No proprietary platform gets to claim your code. Build it, monetize it, open source it—your choice.
Finale: Spatial XR Mixer & Demo Showcase
Close out the weekend at the Spatial XR Mixer — the official hackathon finale and the largest XR meetup at GDC 2026. On Sunday evening, teams will demo what they built to an audience of XR professionals, developers, investors, and industry leaders from across the conference. It's where the weekend's work gets seen, celebrated, and carried forward.
The Mixer is open to all GDC industry attendees. Bring a headset. RSVP separately: https://luma.com/jw4w28g2
This event is hosted at the Frontier Tower:
We are transforming a 16-floor tower in San Francisco into a self-governed vertical village—a hub for frontier technologies and creative arts. Tier-one labs presenting AI, Ethereum, biotech, neuroscience, longevity, robotics, human flourishing, and arts & music. These floors will house innovators and creators pushing the boundaries of human potential in a post-AI-singularity world.
Apply here for founding citizenship: https://frontiertower.io/apply
Why should I become a citizen?
Be part of creating the first self-governed vertical village
Connect with the most creative people in the city
Get access to all floors, free event space & movement floor
Website: https://frontiertower.io/
Need more reading? Visit https://frontiertower.notion.site/