Decentraland Friendzone Buildathon: Build the Place Your Friends Keep Coming Back To
By DCL Regenesis Labs, , in Announcements
The building has already startedđ«
The three-week Friendzone Buildathon is challenging creators to build mobile-first social experiences for the Decentraland Mobile App. Until September 4, builders can register through DoraHacks, create their own social experience in a Decentraland World and compete for a share of an $8,000 MANA prize pool, plus badges, merch rewards and potential featuring in the Decentraland Mobile App. And for anyone wondering where to start, resources are ready. Throughout the Buildathon, workshop recordings, recaps and practical resources for building and optimizing experiences for mobile are being published, so builders can learn while they build. But Friendzone is about more than building for a competition. Itâs about creating the kind of digital places where people can feel connected, even when theyâre far apart.
Every community should have that place...
...where you meet after a long day. Where someone always shows up. Where a five-minute visit somehow turns into an hour. Where friendships form, inside jokes begin and familiar faces keep coming back.
And that place doesnât have to be tied to a physical location anymore. These spaces can exist online. Digital, persistent and accessible anytime, from anywhere.
The future is now. And in @decentraland, that place can be anything you imagine.
A game. A chaotic party room. A cooperative challenge. A competitive arena. A strange little corner of the internet that only makes sense to you and your friends.
With Friendzone, we want to empower creators to explore the possibilities of Decentraland Worlds and build more of those places that bring people together at a time when feeling connected in the physical world isnât always easy.
Your people. Your idea. Your Friendzone.
What does your Friendzone look like?
There is no single answer đ€·ââïž
Friendzone is about exploring what social experiences in Decentraland can be:
Build a hangout where the environment gives people a reason to connect
Create a game that gets better when friends join
Design a challenge people want to replay together
Make something weird, funny, competitive, cooperative, cozy or chaotic. What matters is that your experience gives people a reason to spend time together, invite friends and come back. And here comes the challenge: these experiences are meant to be optimized for the Decentraland Mobile App. Because your favorite place does not have to stay behind when you leave your computer. Your Friendzone can be with you wherever you go. Open your phone. Jump in. See whoâs around. Hang out. That's the idea Friendzone creators are invited to explore.
The timeline
August 14 to September 4: Build Phase
September 4: Submission Deadline
September 5 to 11: Judging
September 13: Winner Reveal and Closing Event
Build it with us
The plan is not to announce a challenge, disappear for three weeks and come back for judging. Throughout Friendzone, DCL Regenesis Labs and the @decentraland Foundation are supporting builders with workshops, tutorials, live feedback sessions, troubleshooting support and plenty of resources. This is the Friendzone taking shape, and everyone is welcome to join! đ Become friends, get to know each other and join live sessions covering topics including:
Creator Hub workflows
Building and testing for mobile
Mobile UX and touch controls
Performance and optimization
Concept feedback and troubleshooting
Deployment, GitHub and submission support
Builders can also get direct help through the dedicated Friendzone channel in the Decentraland Discord Missed a session? Workshop recordings are available on YouTube, while recaps, key takeaways and additional resources are published in the Decentraland Forum.
đ Watch the Friendzone workshop recordings on YouTube
đ Find workshop recaps and resources in the Decentraland Forum
Whether you already know the Decentraland creator ecosystem or are opening the tools for the first time, you can use the workshops, recordings and builder resources to turn your idea into something people can actually experience together.
$8,000 in MANA plus more
Five projects will share an $8,000 MANA prize pool:
đ„ 1st Place: $3,000 in MANA
đ„ 2nd Place: $2,000 in MANA
đ„ 3rd Place: $1,500 in MANA
đ 4th Place: $1,000 in MANA
đ 5th Place: $500 in MANA
And winning is not the only way to leave Friendzone with something.
The first 50 eligible participants associated with a valid submission will receive a $30 voucher for the official Decentraland Merch Shop.
Every participant with an eligible submission will also receive an exclusive Friendzone badge for their Decentraland profile.
The top 10 projects may also receive special featuring in Decentraland Mobile App.
Because great Friendzones deserve to be discovered.
But what makes a great Friendzone?
Itâs not about building the most technically complicated project. The experience as a whole is what counts.
Would you invite your friends?
Would you stay?
Would you come back tomorrow?
Every eligible project will be tested directly in the Decentraland Mobile App but technical complexity alone will not determine the winners. A simple, polished and genuinely enjoyable social experience can score higher than something far more complicated that is difficult to understand, performs poorly or does not give people a meaningful reason to interact. Visit our DoraHacks site to learn more about how judging works.
Friendzone can be just the beginning
The end of the Buildathon does not necessarily have to be the end of your project. Promising submissions may be considered for further incubation and support through the DCL Regenesis Labs Grants Program, Season 2 and the Decentraland Foundation Creator Success Program. Selected teams may receive guidance, visibility and opportunities to continue improving, expanding and preparing their experiences for a wider audience. Further support is not guaranteed and depends on project quality, potential, program requirements and available capacity. But a Friendzone submission could become the first version of something much bigger.
The Buildathon is live. You can still join.
The Friendzone Buildathon is already underway, but registration remains open throughout the build phase. Join through @DoraHacks, explore the available resources and start building your Friendzone:
the place you wish existed in Decentraland
the game your group would keep replaying
the hangout you would open just to see whoâs around
the little corner of the internet that feels like yours
And with the Decentraland Mobile App, the Friendzone you build can be a place your community carries with them wherever they go.
Turn your Decentraland World into the Friendzone no one wants to leave. Join the Friendzone Buildathon on DoraHacks and start building.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Decentraland Friendzone Buildathon? It's a three-week build challenge for creating mobile-first social experiences in Decentraland Worlds, designed for the Decentraland Mobile App.
Who can join the Friendzone Buildathon? Anyone can register through DoraHacks during the build phase, which runs through September 4.
What can be won in the Friendzone Buildathon? Five projects share an $8,000 MANA prize pool, and every eligible participant receives a Friendzone badge. The first 50 eligible participants also receive a $30 Decentraland Merch Shop voucher, and the top 10 projects may be featured in the Decentraland Mobile App.
When is the submission deadline? September 4. Judging runs September 5 to 11, with the winner reveal and closing event on September 13.
Where can builders find help during the Buildathon? Through the dedicated Friendzone channel in the Decentraland Discord, workshop recordings on YouTube, and recaps and resources in the Decentraland Forum.
What happens after the Buildathon ends? Promising submissions may be considered for further incubation through the DCL Regenesis Labs Grants Program, Season 2, or the Decentraland Foundation Creator Success Program.
By participating, you agree to the Friendzone Buildathon Terms & Conditions