What Fast Company documented
The April 2010 article profiled five developers aged 16 and under. Huber, at 14, was the Detroit entry. Fast Company reported that he co-developed Wooden Labyrinth 3D with Elias Pietilä and Tapani Pihlajamäki, that the game generated infinite procedurally generated levels, and that the combined free and paid versions shipped over 7.5 million copies, with the free version reaching number one in the Free Games chart.
The magazine also credited the app with a Student Apple Design Award in 2009. The article does not spell out which of the three developers received that award or what each contributed to the code, and this page does not assume.
From reviewing apps to writing them
The route in was ordinary and cheap. Huber began by reviewing iPhone apps on YouTube at 13, which is a way of studying a market rather than a programming apprenticeship. His first computer was a MacBook Pro, and Fast Company reported that he began writing Objective-C shortly after getting it.
Objective-C was the language iPhone apps were built in at the time, and it had a reputation for an awkward syntax that deterred beginners. What the App Store had changed was not the difficulty of the language but the distance from a bedroom to a distribution channel: a 13-year-old could now put software in front of millions of people without a publisher, a retail box or a sales force.
What 7.5 million downloads was worth
Download totals are the most quoted and least informative figure in mobile software. Most of those 7.5 million copies were free, and a free game earns nothing directly. Fast Company's profile reports the volume and the chart position, not revenue, and no earnings figure for Huber appears anywhere in the source.
A number one placing in the free games chart is nonetheless a real achievement, because it is the visibility that paid conversions and later releases depend on. It is also fragile. App Store charts turn over quickly, and a game at the top in one week can be unfindable within a month.
What he said he wanted to do
Huber's stated ambition was not to become a programmer. He told Fast Company he hoped to attend Stanford or Loyola University Chicago to study communications and marketing, and to end up as a marketing director at a technology company.
That is an unusual answer from a teenager with a top-charting app, and a revealing one. It suggests the part of the work he valued was the market, the reviews and the audience, and it matches the way he came into the business, watching what people downloaded before writing anything.
Where Stephen Huber is now
The record stops with the Fast Company piece, which carried a later update note. No source used here reports whether he went to Stanford or Loyola, whether he continued developing software, or what Wooden Labyrinth 3D earned.
That gap is typical of the first wave of teenage App Store developers. The platform gave them reach at an age when reach was unprecedented, but almost none of them were covered again once the novelty of the age passed. What survives is the snapshot: a 14-year-old in Detroit, a year into writing code, with a game near the top of a global chart.
| Person | Country | Milestone | Age / Stat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rishi Shiv Prasanna | India | Winning the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar in 2023 at eight, for… | Age 0 |
| Cannan Huey-You | United States | Presenting research on a Milky Way gas cloud at the American Astronomical… | Age 11 |
| Stephen Huber | United States | Co-developing Wooden Labyrinth 3D | Age 13 |
| Ángela Olazarán Laureano | Mexico | An AI medical assistant built in Veracruz, designed to work where there is | Age 14 |
| Émer Hickey | Ireland | Co-winning the 2014 Google Science Fair grand prize | Age 16 |
What is documented — and what is not
✓ Documented
- Profiled by Fast Company in April 2010 at 14, in Detroit, among developers aged 16 and under
- Co-developed Wooden Labyrinth 3D with Elias Pietilä and Tapani Pihlajamäki; over 7.5 million copies shipped (Fast Company)
- Began developing at 13 after reviewing apps on YouTube; wrote Objective-C on a MacBook Pro (Fast Company)
? Unverified, disputed or wrong
- Which developer received the 2009 Student Apple Design Award is not specified
- No earnings figure or revenue split has been published
- Nothing about his education or work after 2010 appears in the sources used here
Questions people ask about Stephen Huber
How old is Stephen Huber?
Fast Company described him as 14 in April 2010, placing his birth around 1996. No date of birth is published.
What is Wooden Labyrinth 3D?
An iPhone puzzle game with infinite procedurally generated levels. Fast Company reported Huber co-developed it with Elias Pietilä and Tapani Pihlajamäki.
How many downloads did the game get?
Fast Company reported more than 7.5 million combined free and paid copies, with the free version reaching number one in the Free Games chart.
How much money did Stephen Huber make?
No earnings figure appears in the source used here. Most of the downloads were of the free version, which generates no direct revenue.
How did he learn to code?
He began reviewing iPhone apps on YouTube at 13, bought a MacBook Pro as his first computer and started writing Objective-C shortly afterwards.
Where is Stephen Huber now?
No source used here reports anything after the Fast Company profile and its later update. His stated plan at 14 was to study communications and marketing.
Is Stephen Huber on Wikipedia?
No Wikipedia article on him was identified in the research behind this page.
Did he win an Apple award?
Fast Company credited Wooden Labyrinth 3D with a Student Apple Design Award in 2009. The article does not specify which of the three developers received it.
Quick quiz: how well do you know Stephen’s story?
How old was Stephen Huber when Fast Company profiled him?
How many copies did Wooden Labyrinth 3D ship?
What did he say he wanted to study?
Sources
- The Young App-rentices: Five App Developers Ages 16 and Under — Fast Company, 2010-04-20
Checked by the Geniuses.club editorial team. Ages are given as of September 2026.
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