Overview

Reddit and Kiro are hosting a virtual hackathon from October 13th to October 29th, 2025. We’re offering $45,000 in prizes for the best apps built for redditors.

The challenge:

Build a new game, social experiment, or experience on Reddit’s Developer Platform using our Interactive Posts feature. For this hackathon, developers must use Devvit Web, which allows you to build Devvit apps using web technologies.

Participants will also have access to Kiro to make their game shine. The participant that uses Kiro to best improve their developer experience will be eligible for a special $10,000 prize. Users getting access to Kiro for the first time will be granted 500 bonus credits usable within 30 days. Full pricing details available here.

Categories:

  1. Community Play: Apps that make great use of massively multiplayer game mechanics to bring redditors together. We’re looking for both synchronous and asynchronous experiences built with the intention of bringing a multitude of players together.

  2. Best Kiro Developer Experience: How creatively did they integrate Kiro capabilities into their development workflow to make their life easier?

Games must be built on Devvit Web and be compliant with our Devvit Rules. Read our guide on how to build games for Reddit for more guidance on building for our platform.

 

For this event we are looking for polish, meaning apps that are ready to Beta or GA. We understand that not all projects will reach this threshold, but projects that are well tested and concept-complete will score higher. This includes a custom first screen/splash screen, as well as responsive design. Best practices for polished apps can be found here.

Getting Started
  1. Get started with the Quickstart
  2. If you're building with Kiro, Download Kiro
  3. Browse our Template Library for building with a familiar framework
    • All Devvit templates are pre-configured with a Kiro folder!
  4. Open your Devvit project from the Kiro IDE, or your IDE of choice
  5. View examples of existing games on r/GameOnReddit
  6. Join us on Discord for live support and office hours
Sustaining Success

Successful apps built during the hackathon can become eligible for Reddit Developer Funds, which rewards apps for reaching viewership milestones, or apps that are responsible for the creation of a new established community. Learn more about the program here. Eligible developers also have access to our Payments sandbox APIs to build premium layers or goods into their apps. To qualify for Developer Funds or Payments API access, developers need to meet our Earn eligibility requirements.

Requirements

What to Submit

  • App listing – Link to your app on developer.reddit.com.

  • Demo post – Link to your subreddit and a public post running your game. Judging will primarily be evaluating community play based on the demo link, so make sure to make the experience as self explanatory as possible.

  • [Optional] Developer Platform feedback – Complete our developer satisfaction survey for a shot at the Best Feedback prize.

For submissions to be eligible for the Best Kiro Developer Experience award, your Project must meet the submission requirements for the Reddit Best App: Community Play award, as well as the following additional requirements:

  • Identify your submission is intended to be evaluated for the Kiro award. Include a text description that should explain the features and functionality of your Project.

  • Provide a detailed write up OR video demonstration on how using Kiro impacted your Project development. Describe how your use of Kiro improved your development workflow while you created the Project, and how your approaches could apply to future projects or development more broadly.

    • Judges must be able to understand from your writeup or video any creative solutions you found using Kiro that significantly improved your developer experience.

    • Video submissions should be less than three (3) minutes. Judges are not required to watch beyond three minutes.

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

    • Your submission should make it clear that you understood how to use Kiro and applied that understanding effectively during your Project development. 

  • Provide a URL to your open source code repository for judging and testing. The code repository must be public with an approved OSI Open Source License.

    • Your repo must contain the /.kiro directory at the root of the project to show usage of specs, hooks, and steering. Do NOT add the /.kiro directory or sub-folders to your .gitignore, as this could disqualify your submission.

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$45,000 in prizes
Best Game - Community Play
$15,000 in cash
1 winner

Best Kiro Developer Experience
$10,000 in cash
1 winner

Honorable Mention - Community Play
$1,000 in cash
10 winners

Honorable Mention - Kiro Developer Experience
$1,000 in cash
5 winners

Devvit Helper Award
$1,000 in cash
3 winners

Feedback Award
$200 in cash
10 winners

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

Reddit Panel

Reddit Panel

Kiro Panel

Kiro Panel

Judging Criteria

  • Delightful UX
    Experiences should be built with exciting layouts and themes. While apps do not need to be perfect, it should be easy and fun to uncover what the app has to offer.
  • Polish
    Your submission should be as close to publishable as possible and compliant with Devvit Rules. Judges should be able to understand everything we need to know by interacting with example posts. A custom first screen is required for a full score.
  • Reddit-y
    Reddit is all about community and embracing topics people care about, no matter how weird. We want apps to have their own identity, are community-minded, and bring something fresh to the platform. The best apps will bring a community together.
  • Community Play
    Does your app make use of community play in a central and exciting way? Does it encourage users to work together, compete, or join an experience with a shared goal?
  • Best Kiro Developer Experience
    Make Kiro experts ask, “Why didn’t I think of that?” We’re looking for creative solutions that significantly improved your development. Think: clever automations, efficiency gains, reduction of cognitive load. Bonus points for solutions others can adopt.

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

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