Rules

Updated March 04, 2026

Important dates TL;DR:

  • Hackathon Start: April 9, 2026 (6:00 pm CET)

  • Submission Deadline: April 30, 2026 (6:00 pm CET)

  • Finalists Announcement: May 6, 2026 (05:00 pm CET)

  • Finals in Berlin: June 30 - July 3, 2026 (Time to be announced)

  • Winners Announcement: July 3, 2026 (5:00 pm CET)

What to Build

You're free to use any tool or technology you like! Whether you prefer Unity, Unreal, ShapesXR, Blender, Figma, whatever works for you.

What we're looking for: Strong, well thought through concepts you can clearly communicate, plus working prototypes (APKs) we can actually try out for bonus points. We want to see your ideas in action and actively encourage cross-functional teams.

How to think about it: Use the online phase (April 9-30) as your concept phase. Build a strong foundation, clear direction, and validate your ideas. If you’re one of the finalists, you can use the time in Berlin to build your app.

The categories and tracks are announced during the opening keynote of XRCC, so you have the flexibility to choose a focus area that inspires you.

What to Submit

For the submission, we require a video that showcases your project - this helps keep submissions consistent and makes it easy for us (and you!) to share and promote your work.

Rules

XRCC (the “Hackathon”) Official Rules

NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.

SUBMISSION OF ANY ENTRY CONSTITUTES AGREEMENT TO THESE OFFICIAL RULES AS A CONTRACT BETWEEN ENTRANT (AND EACH INDIVIDUAL MEMBER OF ENTRANT), THE HACKATHON SPONSORS AND THE HACKATHON ORGANIZERS.

  1. Dates and Timing

Registration Period

March 17, 2026 (9:00 am CET) - April 11, 2026 (6:00 pm CET) (“Registration Period”).

Submission Period

April 9, 2026 (6:00 pm CET) - April 30, 2026 (6:00 pm CET) (“Submission Period”).

Judging Round 1

April 30, 2026 (6:00 pm CET) – May 5, 2026 (11:45 pm CET) (“Judging Round 1”).

Finalists Announced

On May 6, 2026 (5:00 pm CET) (“Finalist Announcement”).

Community Voting

May 6, 2026 (6:00 pm CET) – July 2, 2026 (11:45 pm CET) (“Community Voting”).

Finals in Berlin (in-person)

June 30, 2026 (9:00 am CET) – July 3, 2026 (11:45 pm CET) (“Finals”).

Winners Announced

On July 3, 2026 (Time to be announced) (“Winner Announcement”).

  1. Administrator

Administrator: immersive insiders, Berlin Germany

  1. Eligibility

The Hackathon IS open to:

  • Individuals who are at least the age of majority where they reside as of the time of entry (“Eligible Individuals”);

  • Teams of Eligible Individuals (“Teams”); and

  • Organizations (including corporations, not-for-profit corporations and other nonprofit organizations, limited liability companies, partnerships, and other legal entities) that exist and have been organized or incorporated at the time of entry.(the above are collectively, “Entrants”)

An Eligible Individual may join more than one Team or Organization and an Eligible Individual who is part of a Team or Organization may also enter the Hackathon on an individual basis.

If a Team or Organization is entering the Hackathon, they must appoint and authorize one individual (the “Representative”) to represent, act, and enter a Submission, on their behalf.

By entering a Submission on behalf of a Team or Organization you represent and warrant that you are the Representative authorized to act on behalf of your Team or Organization.

The Hackathon IS NOT open to:

  • Individuals who are residents of, or Organizations domiciled in, a country, state, province or territory where the laws of the United States, Germany, or local law prohibits participating or receiving a prize in the Hackathon (including, but not limited to, Brazil, Quebec, Russia, Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria and any other country designated by the United States Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control).
    Why this rule exists: Some countries have laws that make it hard or even illegal for organizers to run competitions or send prizes there. This is not about excluding anyone on purpose.

  • Employees, representatives and agents** of such Promotion Entities, and all members of their immediate family or household*

  • Any other individual involved with the design, production, promotion, execution, or distribution of the Hackathon, and each member of their immediate family or household*

  • Any parent company, subsidiary, or other affiliate*** of any organization described above

  • Any other individual or organization whose participation in the Hackathon would create, in the sole discretion of the Sponsors and/or Administrator, a real or apparent conflict of interest

  • The members of an individual’s immediate family include the individual’s spouse, children and stepchildren, parents and stepparents, and siblings and stepsiblings. The members of an individual’s household include any other person that shares the same residence as the individual for at least three (3) months out of the year.

  1. How to Enter

All Entrants, including each member of a team, must enter by visiting https://forms.immersive-insiders.com/xrcc26/registration (“Participant Registration Form”) and following the steps below:

  • Register for the Hackathon by filling out the Participant Registration Form and clicking the “Submit” button. To complete registration, sign up to create a free Discord account, or log in with an existing Discord account and join the immersive insiders server. This will enable you to receive important updates.

  • Complete the external team registration form and make sure your team is registered by checking that you are in the team database. (Links will be available once you fill out the registration form).

  • Team sizes of 1-5 people are allowed.

  • Entrants will complete a Project described below in Project Requirements. Use of any developer tools will be subject to the license agreement related thereto.
    Entry in the Hackathon constitutes consent for the Administrators to collect and maintain an entrant’s personal information for the purpose of operating and publicizing the Hackathon.

  • Complete and enter all of the required fields on the “Enter a Submission” form during the Submission Period and follow the requirements below.

If a Team or Organization is entering the Hackathon, they must appoint and authorize one individual (the “Representative”) to represent, act, and enter a Submission, on their behalf.

By entering a Submission on behalf of a Team or Organization you represent and warrant that you are the Representative authorized to act on behalf of your Team or Organization.

Project Requirements
What to Create:

Entrants must create a concept or working prototype using any tool or technology they like.

  • Platform Tracks (Platform-specific requirements): If you submit to a Platform Track, you must follow the track-specific requirements. This includes the required hardware for that platform.

  • Industry Tracks (Platform-agnostic): Industry Tracks are platform agnostic. Any hardware and any technology can be used.

  • Important: If you build for a Platform Track, you can also submit the same Project into one Industry Track, if your project fits that category. This increases your chances of winning.

Full requirements are available in documents shared after you register to the hackathon.

Newly Created:

Projects must be newly created by the Entrant after the start of the Hackathon Submission Period.

Third Party Integrations:

If a Project integrates any third-party SDK, APIs and/or data, Entrant must be authorized to use them in accordance with any terms and conditions or licensing requirements of the tool.

Submission Requirements

Only one representative from each team must submit the project making sure to add all other team members (if applicable) who have registered as collaborators.

Submissions to the Hackathon must meet the following requirements:

  • Include a Project that meets the above Project Requirements.

  • Include a text description that should explain the features and functionality of your Project.

  • Include a demonstration video of your Project. The video portion of the Submission:

  • should be one (1) minute max. Judges are not required to watch beyond one minute

  • Note: You can optionally include a supplementary longer video but the submission video needs to be a max of 1 minute in length.

  • must be uploaded to and made publicly visible on YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook Video, or Youku, and a link to the video must be provided on the submission form on the Hackathon Website

  • must not include third party trademarks, or copyrighted music or other material unless the Entrant has permission to use such material.

Any supplementary file can be put in a zip file, uploaded on a private drive folder with appropriate sharing permissions, then linked in your submission.

Examples of supplementary files you can submit (optional):

  • Quest APK Link

  • ShapesXR Space

  • Longer video (up to 5 mins)

  • Blender / 3D Files

  • Figma / 2D Files

  • Any other tool

Multiple Submissions

An Entrant may submit more than one Submission, however, each Submission must be unique and substantially different from each of the Entrant’s other Submissions, as determined by the Administrator in their sole discretion.

Submission ownership

The original work of the Entrant shall be solely owned by the Entrant and not violate the IP rights of any other person or entity.

Testing

Access may optionally be provided to an Entrant’s working Project for judging and testing by providing a link to a website, functioning demo, or a test build. If Entrant’s website is private, Entrant must include login credentials in its testing instructions. The Entrant must make the Project available free of charge and without any restriction, for testing, evaluation and use by the Sponsor, Administrator and Judges until the Judging Period ends. Judges are not required to test the Project and may choose to judge based solely on the text description, images, and video provided in the Submission.

Private code repository access can be provided to the Sponsor by sharing your repository with xrcc@immersive-insiders.com.

Language Requirements

All Submission materials must be in English or, if not in English, the Entrant must provide an English translation of the demonstration video, text description, and testing instructions as well as all other materials submitted.

Team Representation

If a team or organization is entering the Hackathon, they must appoint and authorize one individual (the “Representative”) to represent, act, and enter a Submission, on their behalf. The Representative must meet the eligibility requirements above. By entering a Submission on the Hackathon Website on behalf of a team or organization you represent and warrant that you are the Representative authorized to act on behalf of your team or organization.

Intellectual Property

Your Submission must: (a) be your (or your Team, or Organization’s) original work product; (b) be solely owned by you, your Team, your Organization with no other person or entity having any right or interest in it; and (c) not violate the intellectual property rights or other rights including but not limited to copyright, trademark, patent, contract, and/or privacy rights, of any other person or entity. An Entrant may contract with a third party for technical assistance to create the Submission provided the Submission components are solely the Entrant’s work product and the result of the Entrant’s ideas and creativity, and the Entrant owns all rights to them. An Entrant may submit a Submission that includes the use of open source software or hardware, provided the Entrant complies with applicable open source licenses and, as part of the Submission, creates software that enhances and builds upon the features and functionality included in the underlying open source product. By entering the Hackathon, you represent, warrant, and agree that your Submission meets these requirements.

Financial or Preferential Support

A Project must not have been developed, or derived from a Project developed, with financial or preferential support from the Sponsor or Administrator. Such Projects include, but are not limited to, those that received funding or investment for their development, were developed under contract, or received a commercial license, from the Sponsor or Administrator any time prior to the end of Hackathon Submission Period. The Sponsor, at their sole discretion, may disqualify a Project, if awarding a prize to the Project would create a real or apparent conflict of interest.

  1. Submission Modifications

Draft Submissions

Prior to the end of the Submission Period, you may save draft versions of your submission before submitting the Submission materials to the Hackathon for evaluation. Once the Submission Period has ended, you may not make any changes or alterations to your Submission, but you may continue to update the Project in your portfolio.

Modifications

After the Submission Period. The Administrator may permit you to modify part of your Submission after the Submission Period for the purpose of adding, removing or replacing material that potentially infringes a third party mark or right, discloses personally identifiable information, or is otherwise inappropriate. The modified Submission must remain substantively the same as the original Submission with the only modification being what the Administrator permits.

  1. Judges & Criteria

Eligible submissions will be evaluated by a panel of judges selected by the Administrator (the “Judges”). Judges may be employees of the sponsor or third parties, may or may not be listed individually on the Hackathon Website, and may change before or during the Judging Period.

Judging may take place in one or more rounds with one or more panels of Judges, at the discretion of the Administrator.

Stage One: Finalist Determination

The first stage will determine via pass/fail whether the ideas meet a baseline level of viability, in that the Project reasonably fits the theme. Submissions in Stage One will be evaluated by the Administrator and Mentors of the Hackathon.

Stage Two: Winner Determination

All Submissions that pass Stage One will be evaluated in Stage Two based on the following equally weighted criteria (the “Judging Criteria”) and according to the sole and absolute discretion of the judges:

The scores from the Judges will determine the potential winners of the applicable prizes. The Entrant(s) that are eligible for a Prize, and whose Submissions earn the highest overall scores based on the applicable Judging Criteria, will become potential winners of that Prize.

Tie Breaking

For each Prize listed below, if two or more Submissions are tied, the judges will apply the above Bonus Points to the tied submission. In the event the Submissions are still tied, the tied Submission with the highest score in the first applicable criterion listed above will be considered the higher scoring Submission. In the event any ties remain, this process will be repeated, as needed, by comparing the tied Submissions’ scores on the next applicable criterion. If two or more Submissions are tied on all applicable criteria, the panel of Judges will vote on the tied Submissions.

  1. Intellectual Property Rights

All Submissions remain the intellectual property of the individuals or organizations that developed them. By submitting an entry, entrants agree that the Administrator will have a fully paid, non-exclusive license to use such entry for judging the entry. Entrants agree that the Administrator shall have the right to promote the Submission and use the name, likeness, voice and image of all individuals contributing to a Submission, in any materials promoting or publicizing the Hackathon and its results, during the Hackathon Period and for three years thereafter. Some Submission components may be displayed to the public.

Other Submission materials may be viewed by the Administrator, sponsors, judges, and mentors for screening and evaluation. By submitting an entry or accepting any prize, entrants represent and warrant that (a) submitted content is not copyrighted, protected by trade secret or otherwise subject to third party intellectual property rights or other proprietary rights, including privacy and publicity rights, unless entrant is the owner of such rights or has permission from their rightful owner to post the content; and (b) the content submitted does not contain any viruses, Trojan horses, worms, spyware or other disabling devices or harmful or malicious code.

  1. Prizes

Prizes will be announced soon.

IMPORTANT NOTES ON MULTIPLE PRIZE ELIGIBILITY:

Each eligible submission can win up to one (1) Platform Track Prize, one (1) Industry Track Prize, one (1) Community Prize, and one (1) Bonus Prize.

  1. Substitutions & Changes:
    Prizes are non-transferable by the winner. The Administrator in its sole discretion has the right to make a prize substitution of equivalent or greater value. The Administrator will not award a prize if there are no eligible Submissions entered in the Hackathon, or if there are no eligible Entrants or Submissions for a specific prize.

  2. Verification Requirement:
    THE AWARD OF A PRIZE TO A POTENTIAL WINNER IS SUBJECT TO VERIFICATION OF THE IDENTITY, QUALIFICATIONS AND ROLE OF THE POTENTIAL WINNER IN THE CREATION OF THE SUBMISSION. No Submission or Entrant shall be deemed a winning Submission or winner until their post-competition prize affidavits have been completed and verified, even if prospective winners have been announced verbally or on the competition website. The final decision to designate a winner shall be made by the Administrator.

  3. Prize Delivery:
    Prizes will be payable to the Entrant, if an individual; to the Entrant’s Representative, if a Team; or to the Organization, if the Entrant is an Organization. It will be the responsibility of the winning Entrant’s Representative to allocate the Prize among their Team or Organization’s participating members, as the Representative deems appropriate.
    A monetary Prize will be mailed to the winning Entrant’s address (if an individual) or the Representative’s address (if a Team or organization), or sent electronically to the Entrant, Entrant’s Representative, or Organization’s bank account, only after receipt of the completed winner affidavit and other required forms (collectively the “Required Forms”), if applicable. The deadline for returning the Required Forms to the Administrator is ten (10) business days after the Required Forms are sent.
    Failure to provide correct information on the Required Forms, or other correct information required for the delivery of a Prize, may result in delayed Prize delivery, disqualification of the Entrant, or forfeiture of a Prize. Prizes will be delivered within 90 days of the Administrator’s receipt of the completed Required Forms.

  4. Fees & Taxes:
    Winners (and in the case of Team or Organization, all participating members) are responsible for any fees associated with receiving or using a prize, including but not limited to, wiring fees or currency exchange fees. Winners (and in the case of Team or Organization, all participating members) are responsible for reporting and paying all applicable taxes in their jurisdiction of residence (federal, state/provincial/territorial and local). Winners may be required to provide certain information to facilitate receipt of the award, including completing and submitting any tax or other forms necessary for compliance with applicable withholding and reporting requirements. United States residents may be required to provide a completed form W-9 and residents of other countries may be required to provide a completed W-8BEN form. Winners are also responsible for complying with foreign exchange and banking regulations in their respective jurisdictions and reporting the receipt of the Prize to relevant government departments/agencies, if necessary. The Administrator and/or Prize provider reserves the right to withhold a portion of the prize amount to comply with the tax laws of the United States or other Sponsor jurisdiction, or those of a winner’s jurisdiction.

  1. Entry Conditions and Release

A. By entering the Hackathon, you (and, if you are entering on behalf of a Team, Organization each participating members) agree(s) to the following:

  • The relationship between you, the Entrant, and the Administrator, is not a confidential, fiduciary, or other special relationship.

  • You will be bound by and comply with these Official Rules and the decisions of the Administrator, and/or the Hackathon Judges which are binding and final in all matters relating to the Hackathon.

  • You release, indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Promotion Entities, and their respective parent, subsidiary, and affiliated companies, the Prize suppliers and any other organizations responsible for sponsoring, fulfilling, administering, advertising or promoting the Hackathon, and all of their respective past and present officers, directors, employees, agents and representatives (hereafter the “Released Parties”) from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liabilities (including reasonable attorneys’ fees), including but not limited to negligence and damages of any kind to persons and property, defamation, slander, libel, violation of right of publicity, infringement of trademark, copyright or other intellectual property rights, property damage, or death or personal injury arising out of or relating to a Entrant’s entry, creation of Submission or entry of a Submission, participation in the Hackathon, acceptance or use or misuse of the Prize (including any travel or activity related thereto) and/or the broadcast, transmission, performance, exploitation or use of the Submission as authorized or licensed by these Official Rules.

B. Without limiting the foregoing, the Released Parties shall have no liability in connection with:

  • Any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by the Administrator’s electronic or printing error, or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Hackathon;

  • Technical failures of any kind, including, but not limited to malfunctions, interruptions, or disconnections in phone lines, internet connectivity or electronic transmission errors, or network hardware or software or failure of the Hackathon Website;

  • Unauthorized human intervention in any part of the entry process or the Hackathon;

  • Technical or human error which may occur in the administration of the Hackathon or the processing of Submissions; or

  • Any injury or damage to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from the Entrant’s participation in the Hackathon or receipt or use or misuse of any Prize.

The Released Parties are not responsible for incomplete, late, misdirected, damaged, lost, illegible, or incomprehensible Submissions or for address or email address changes of the Entrants. Proof of sending or submitting the aforementioned will not be deemed to be proof of receipt by the Administrator. If for any reason any Entrant’s Submission is determined to have not been received or been erroneously deleted, lost, or otherwise destroyed or corrupted, the Entrant’s sole remedy is to request the opportunity to resubmit its Submission. Such a request must be made promptly after the Entrant knows or should have known there was a problem and will be determined at the sole discretion of the Administrator.

  1. . Publicity

By participating in the Hackathon, Entrant consents to the promotion and display of the Entrant’s Submission, and to the use of personal information about themselves for promotional purposes, by the Administrator, and third parties acting on their behalf. Such personal information includes, but is not limited to, your name, likeness, photograph, voice, opinions, comments and hometown and country of residence. It may be used in any existing or newly created media, worldwide without further payment or consideration or right of review, unless prohibited by law. Authorized use includes but is not limited to advertising and promotional purposes.

11. General Conditions

Administrator reserves the right, in their sole discretion, to cancel, suspend and/or modify the Hackathon, or any part of it, in the event of a technical failure, fraud, or any other factor or event that was not anticipated or is not within their control.

Administrator reserves the right in their sole discretion to disqualify any individual or Entrant if it finds to be actually or presenting the appearance of tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Hackathon or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules or in a manner that is inappropriate, unsportsmanlike, not in the best interests of this Hackathon, or a violation of any applicable law or regulation.

Any attempt by any person to undermine the proper conduct of the Hackathon may be a violation of criminal and civil law. Should the Administrator suspect that such an attempt has been made or is threatened, they reserve the right to take appropriate action including but not limited to requiring an Entrant to cooperate with an investigation and referral to criminal and civil law enforcement authorities.

If there is any discrepancy or inconsistency between the terms and conditions of the Official Rules and disclosures or other statements contained in any Hackathon materials, including but not limited to the Hackathon Submission form, Hackathon Website, or advertising, the terms and conditions of the Official Rules shall prevail.

The terms and conditions of the Official Rules are subject to change at any time, including the rights or obligations of the Entrant, the Administrator.
The Administrator will post the terms and conditions of the amended Official Rules on the Hackathon Website. To the fullest extent permitted by law, any amendment will become effective at the time specified in the posting of the amended Official Rules or, if no time is specified, the time of posting.

If at any time prior to the deadline, an Entrant or prospective Entrant believes that any term in the Official Rules is or may be ambiguous, they must submit a written request for clarification.

The Administrator’s failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision. Should any provision of these Official Rules be or become illegal or unenforceable in any jurisdiction whose laws or regulations may apply to an Entrant, such illegality or unenforceability shall leave the remainder of these Official Rules, including the Rule affected, to the fullest extent permitted by law, unaffected and valid. The illegal or unenforceable provision shall be replaced by a valid and enforceable provision that comes closest and best reflects the Administrator’s intention in a legal and enforceable manner with respect to the invalid or unenforceable provision.

Excluding Submissions, all intellectual property related to this Hackathon, including but not limited to copyrighted material, trademarks, trade-names, logos, designs, promotional materials, web pages, source codes, drawings, illustrations, slogans and representations are owned or used under license by the Administrator. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized copying or use of any copyrighted material or intellectual property without the express written consent of its owners is strictly prohibited. Any use in a Submission of Administrator’s intellectual property shall be solely to the extent provided for in these Official Rules.

12. Limitations of Liability

By entering, all Entrants (including, in the case of a Team or Organization, all participating members) agree to release the Released Parties from any and all liability in connection with the Prizes or Entrant’s participation in the Hackathon. Provided, however, that any liability limitation regarding gross negligence or intentional acts, or events of death or body injury shall not be applicable in jurisdictions where such limitation is not legal.