<p>Avalanche Foundation recently announced Round 2 of its Retro9000 C-Chain program on April 1 with a direct path for Build Games graduates to access serious funding.<br><br>The program has a $40 million pool with applications running until April 16. Avalanche has been pushing various developer incentives since the start of 2026, the latest one being&nbsp;<a href="https://funjible.games/news/avalanche-launches-build-games-with-1m-prize-pool">Build Games with its $1 million prize pool</a>.</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Retro9000 C-Chain Round 2 is now live 🔺<br><br>This round introduces leaderboard multipliers for Build Games participants, alongside further updates to the program.<br><br>New rewards for builders on Avalanche ⤵️ <a href="https://t.co/DKAREKacWo">pic.twitter.com/DKAREKacWo</a></p>— Avalanche Foundation 🔺 (@AvalancheFDN) <a href="https://twitter.com/AvalancheFDN/status/2039356430705410160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 1, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><h2>How does Avalanche’s Retro9000 Work?</h2><p><br>Retro9000 ranks Avalanche projects by the AVAX they burn in transaction fees. More transactions would reflect the number of users the project would have, making it the ultimate decider in the ranking process.<br><br>The top 40 projects at the end of each round qualify for grants. Unlike most grant programs, there won’t be any community votes in Retro9000, so the on-chain activity is the only thing that matters. The competition will run until April 30.</p><h2>The Build Games Advantage</h2><p><br>Projects that hit Stage 2 MVP status in Build Games receive a 10x scoring boost on the Retro9000 leaderboard. If you're a Build Games graduate generating solid traction, this multiplier could put you ahead of competitors with 5x or 10x your actual volume.<br><br>First-time projects deploying on Avalanche C-Chain get a 5x boost instead. The Foundation wants new teams, but it's rewarding graduates from its own pipeline even more. Anyone who competed in Round 1 is automatically enrolled in Round 2, so no need to fill out forms again.<br><br>Avalanche Foundation also placed guardrails:</p><ul><li>Your grant can't exceed 90 percent of what your contracts actually burned.</li><li>You can't claim more than a quarter of the total monthly distribution.</li><li>There's a $200K ceiling per project across all Retro9000 cycles.</li><li>Minimum payout threshold sits at $500 in AVAX.</li></ul><p><br><br>The referral mechanics are back for Retro9000, too. If you bring in a project that lands funding, you can pocket up to $3,000 in AVAX.<br><br>To register or refer to&nbsp;<a href="https://retro9000.avax.network/">Retro9000, head to its official page on Avax.Network</a>. If you’re already running a live product on Avalanche or have been considering a move, this program gives you a clear opportunity to earn funding for the work you’re already doing.</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mZCFIwEgRtI?si=AZgM6OEcsy_Wlvt3" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>

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