The Academy of International Extended Reality – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

April 25, 2022

Get Your Nominations in for the 2022 VR Awards

Last month the Academy of Extended Reality (AIXR) announced that its annual VR Awards would once again be held as an in-person event in London, UK later this year after spending 2021 as a digital-only event. Today, the VR Awards 2022 has opened nominations across 12 categories.

This will be the sixth annual VR Awards, open to immersive projects the world over. Most of the usual categories return looking for the best VR hardware, videogame, film, location-based entertainment (LBE), healthcare app and more.

Nominations are open now until 20th June 2022 with anyone – from individuals to companies – able to place a nomination. As always the VR Awards is a not-for-profit event with the nomination fee waived if you or your company is an AIXR member. If not, each nomination with cost £205 GBP so make your selections carefully. The AIXR has created a handy 2022 Entry Kit to help with the nomination process.

Additionally, there will be two VR Awards webinars held in May and June so that nominees can learn more about the process. They’ll feature previous award winners as well as members of the judging panel.

May 4th 5.00pm BST (9.00am PDT) RSVP here.
June 6th 5.00pm BST (9.00am PDT) RSVP here.

The VR Awards 2022 will be held on 3rd November returning to its roots as a luxurious black-tie event. For all the latest updates on the VR Awards, keep reading gmw3.

March 9, 2022

VR Awards Return to In-person Event in November, Early Birds Tickets Now Available

For the past couple of years the annual VR Awards – organised by the Academy of Extended Reality (AIXR) – has been a virtual-only event, taking place in AltspaceVR in 2021. This week the AIXR has announced the return of its physical London, UK, event, with early bird tickets now available and nominations to begin in April.

Now in its sixth edition, the VR Awards has become one of the most prestigious in the XR industry’s calendar. Last year saw the likes of Paper Birds, Madrid Noir, and the HP Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition take home awards. Resolution Games’ turn-based, tabletop adventure Demeo took home the coveted VR Game of the Year.

If you’re in the industry and interested in attending the VR Awards 2022 then early bird tickets are now available until 1st April. Individual tickets start from £170 GBP, with food, drink and entertainment included. If there are a few of you who wish to attend then a table might be a better option. The standard early bird table will cost £1522 whilst the VIP table will cost $2813. Of course, with that, you get a few juicy extras.

As for the nominations themselves they open on 25th April, which you can register your interest for on the official VR Awards website. AIXR hasn’t confirmed which categories will feature but gmw3 would expect the major ones such as VR Game of the Year, Hardware of the Year and VR Experience of the Year to return.

The 2022 VR Awards will be taking place on 3rd November starting from 6pm, held at 8 Northumberland Avenue in London. When the AIXR releases further info regarding the physical awards presentation gmw3 will let you know.

November 19, 2021

Demeo, Paper Birds & Madrid Noir all win big at 2021 VR Awards

Last night The Academy of International Extended Reality (AIXR) held its fifth annual VR Awards, with the 2021 event taking place virtually inside AltspaceVR for the first time. The VR spectacle – which you could also watch via Youtube and Twitch – celebrated virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technology across 12 categories, with the winners including tabletop multiplayer Demeo and interactive film Paper Birds.

Ahead of the prestigious event, the VR Awards 2021 saw over 128 international nominations, 98 finalists judged by XR experts and almost 10,000 public votes cast in the VR Social Influencer of the Year, and VR Game of the Year categories. Resolution Games took home the coveted VR Game of the Year for Demeo, which is no surprise considering VRFocus’ review found the title excelled as a co-op, turn-based strategy experience.

VR Film of the Year went to 3DAR’s enchanting Paper Birds and VR Experience of the Year was awarded to Madrid Noir by ATLAS V & NO GHOST, two excellent VR titles. One of the big surprises of the night came from the VR Hardware of the Year, with HP Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition enterprise headset taking home the honours.

“Last night, we were delighted to have been able to celebrate the year’s achievements within the Metaverse once more and through our completely bespoke 5th-anniversary world-hop experience – the amazing team here have created a one-of-a-kind virtual journey through the history of the VR Awards and the founders, an event like this is truly a world-first for an awards ceremony,” said Daniel Colaianni, AIXR CEO in a statement. “Our guests were transported into 5 distinctly designed worlds that represent the 5 years that the VR Awards have been recognising VR excellence all across the globe.”

VR Awards 2021 Winners

VR Film of the Year – 3DAR – Paper Birds
VR Social Influencer – ThrillSeeker
VR Hardware of the Year – HP – HP Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition
VR Game of the Year – Resolution Games – Demeo
VR Experience of the Year – ATLAS V & NO GHOST – Madrid Noir
VR Marketing of the Year – Geometry Ogilvy Japan – Shibuya Virtual Halloween
Rising VR Company of the Year: triple A code
Innovative VR Company of the Year – Virtualware
VR Education and Training of the Year – NORCAT – Vale VR
VR Healthcare of the Year – Osso VR – Osso VR – Cinematic VR Surgical Training Platform
Out-of-home VR Entertainment of the Year – Figment Productions Ltd.- Current, Rising
VR Social Impact Award – Accenture – AVEnueS – Race Equity in Child Welfare
VR Enterprise Solution of the Year – Masters of Pie – Hyperbat – World’s First VR Design Review over 5G
VR Lifetime Achievement Award by Accenture – Tom Furness

And that’s it for another year, did you watch and enjoy the show? For all the latest XR news, keep reading VRFocus.

November 18, 2021

How to Watch the 2021 VR Awards

It’s almost time for the fifth annual VR Awards which is holding its event virtually for the second year in a row. Catering to as wide an audience as possible, the VR Awards 2021 will be available in virtual reality (VR) via AltspaceVR as well as streamed online across Youtube, Facebook, and Twitch.

For those that want to enjoy the full immersive spectacle, you’ll need to download AltspaceVR (which is free) as well as booking a free ticket via the VR Awards website. Organised by The Academy of International Extended Reality (AIXR), the awards show begins at 6:30 pm GMT/10:30 am PST, with a virtual drinks reception followed by a “5th Anniversary World Hop.” The main event takes place at 7:30 pm GMT / 11:30 am PST followed by a virtual after party.

You may want to watch the pre-panel live stream from 5:30 pm GMT because there’s a chance to win an Oculus Quest 2. Simply watch the show and note down how many VR Awards posters appear during the stream and at what time they appear. Submit your answer here and you’ll be entered into the raffle to win the standalone headset.

The show will be announcing winners from across 12 categories, from the highly coveted VR Game of the Year to awards for film, educational app, healthcare and enterprise solution of the year. The AIXR also confirmed earlier today that Tom Furness will be given the Accenture Lifetime Achievement Award. With a career spanning over 50 years, Furness is known for developing the first VR systems for the US Air Force and founding the ‘Virtual World Society’ to help families access VR learning facilities.

In response to the Accenture Lifetime Achievement Award, Furness said: “For me, this clearly underscores the current – and continuing – emergence of virtual experiences that introduce us to worlds of wonder! I am more excited now than ever before about the future and how this unprecedented technology will further connect humanity. And this is just the beginning…and I am a kid again!”

AltspaceVR supports most major VR headsets including Oculus Quest and Rift, HTC Vive, Valve Index, and Windows Mixed Reality. Or you can watch the live stream below. For continued updates from AIXR, keep reading VRFocus.

October 23, 2020

HTC’s Cher Wang Given ‘Accenture VR Lifetime Achievement Award’ by AIXR

The annual VR Awards created by The Academy of International Extended Reality (AIXR) holds its event every November, highlighting the best companies, products and those working in the XR industry. One of its main awards is the ‘Accenture VR Lifetime Achievement Award’ which HTC founder and CEO Cher Wang has been given this year.

HTC has been involved with the virtual reality (VR) industry for many years, initially with a firm focus towards consumers with the HTC Vive. Whilst still involved with the consumer sector via the Vive Cosmos, over the years the company has shifted more towards enterprise use cases, from hardware such as Vive Focus Plus and Vive Pro Eye to fostering new startups through its Vive X accelerator.

“I am honoured to receive this award, and dedicate it to all of our teams and partners who dared to dream and are working hard to make the vision happen,” said Cher Wang, Chairwoman and CEO of HTC Corp in a statement. “It’s an exciting time to be in the industry. We’re still in the Age of Exploration for VR, discovering new use cases every day, and it’s been fantastic to see so many people, companies, schools, museums, and more recognise the potential for VR, and utilise it for collaboration, training, education, healthcare, art and culture, and even global sustainability. VR truly holds the key to a better world.”

Recently, HTC Vive launched the Vive XR Suite, designed to help businesses collaborate virtually, comprised of Vive Sync, Vive Sessions, Vive Campus, Vive Social, and Vive Museum; all with their own unique features. Whilst its distribution platform Viveport has been an important part of recent festivals such as Venice VR Expanded and LFF Expanded.

“We’re incredibly proud to name Cher as our ‘Accenture VR Lifetime Achievement’ award winner and hope that by showcasing her work, we can inspire the next generation of pioneers to do more, to break new barriers and continue to develop digital technology,” Daniel Colaianni, AIXR Chief Executive commented. “As always, we’re thankful to our partners at Accenture for their support which enables us to recognise achievement and nurture a flourishing industry as it continues to grow.”

This is the second year for the award which was previously by John Carmack. All the other award winners will be announced during the main event on 12th November 2020, held virtually for the first time inside VRChat. For further updates including the winners, keep reading VRFocus.

July 9, 2020

Finalists for the 2020 VR Awards Include Half-Life: Alyx, Valve Index & Qualcomm

This November the annual VR Awards will hold its fourth event, going digital for the first time via VRChat. In the run-up to the event, nominations are now in and the finalists have been revealed for the 13 categories, with some expected and unexpected entrants.

The VR Awards 2020 is set to be the biggest yet for organiser The Academy of International Extended Reality (AIXR). Now that the nominations are in a judging panel of industry experts will make their decision for the 12th November ceremony.

Additionally, tickets have now been made available, with a free tier providing access to the VR Awards 2020 via desktop or VR headsets. The £35 GBP ticket also gives holders access to online 1-to-1 matchmaking pre and during the event plus networking with similar ticket holders. The Professional VIP ticket at £199 then adds a bespoke and curated academy meet and greet sessions and collectors edition digital access.

Here’s the full list of award nominees:

VR Healthcare of the Year

Make Real & NHS – Blood Identification VR
FundamentalVR – Fundamental Surgery HomeVR modality
Sector 5 Digital – Galderma Interactive Anatomy (GIA) VR
Health Scholars – Health Scholars ACLS VR Simulation Trainings
Oxford Medical Simulation – OMS: Interprofessional
PeriopSim – PeriopSim
Oxford VR – Social Engagement
Exonicus – Trauma Simulator

VR Education and Training of the Year

VirtualSpeech – Collaborative Soft Skills Training in VR
Orka – DHL SLAM
GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy International LTD – Large-Scale Multi-user Fuel Movement VR Training Simulator
ITI – ITI VR Construction Hazard ID
TANTRUM Lab – McDonald’s Hospitality Training
MEL Science – MEL Chemistry VR
Accenture – Police Stop and Search VR Training
Make Real & Lloyds Banking Group – Relationship Management
TAFE NSW – VR in Vocational Education & Training: Evaluating Effectiveness & Efficacy

VR Enterprise Solution of the Year

Neutral Digital – British Airways First Class VR
MEDIASQUAD GmbH – BRP-Rotax VR Job Assessment
Enduvo – Enduvo 1.0
Accenture – Immersive Collaboration Platform (ICP)
Vrgineers, Inc. – US Airforce Flight Simulator
Immerse – Virtual Enterprise Platform

VR Social Impact Award

AARP Innovation Labs – Alcove
Entropia XR – GALERIKU – A VR MUSEUM LIKE NO OTHER
RT – Lessons of Auschwitz: VR tribute by school students
East City Films & Chartered Society of Physiotherapy – Some Inattention On The Left

Rising VR Company of the Year

Cybershoes GmbH
Emperia
Evernever Games
Klip VR Immersive Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
VR Inn

Innovative VR Company of the Year

Ballast Technologies
Cleanbox Technology
EVA Esports Virtual Arenas
Kagenova
Orka
Qualcomm
Skydance Interactive
VISBIT Inc

Out-of-home VR Entertainment of the Year

ILMxLAB & The VOID – Avengers: Damage Control
SOMNIACs – Birdly – Paradise Lost
Ballast Technologies Inc. – DIVR+
Vertigo Arcades – Ghost Patrol VR
HOLOGATE – HOLOGATE ‘BLITZ’
The VOID – Jumanji: Reverse the Curse
The Dream Corporation – OTHERWORLD
Frontgrid – ParadropVR City Flyer
Wevr – TheBlu: Deep Rescue
REWIND – Universal Monsters Presents: Bride of Frankenstein holoride

VR Marketing of the Year

Khora – 360° VR Space Safari
Glassworks Barcelona – Audi e-tron Room: The Future Paradox
Imagination – Land Rover Defender VR Experience
ICEF – LONDONIST Student Accommodation Agency
EAB – This is USAFA
HIKKY CO., LTD. – Virtual Market 4
MALVI – VR Accommodation Experience

VR Film of the Year

Felix and Paul Studios – Algeria: A Spark of Light
Fabio Rychter & Amir Admoni – Gravity VR
Samantha Quick – Lutaw
Walt Disney Animation Studios – Myth: A Frozen Tale
Enrique Agudo – The Pantheon of Queer Mythology

VR Experience of the Year

Accenture – All Kinds of Limbo
Dimension – Britannia VR: Out of Your Mind
Magnopus – Elixir
Charlotte Mikkelborg – Fly
Funktronic Labs – Fujii
Force Field Entertainment – National Geographic Explore VR
Atlas V – The Dawn of Art
Tender Claws – The Under Presents
Zenart VR – Zen Universe

VR Hardware of the Year

Pimax Artisan
Valve Index
Oculus Rift S
Varjo VR-2
VRgineers, Inc. – XTAL 8K

VR Game of the Year

Sanzaru Games – Asgard’s Wrath
Stress Level Zero – Boneworks
Cortopia Studios – Down the Rabbit Hole
Valve – Half-Life: Alyx
nDreams – Phantom: Covert Ops
Cloudhead Games – Pistol Whip
Insomniac Games – Stormland
Kluge Interactive – Synth Riders
Fast Travel Games – The Curious Tale of the Stolen Pets
Fireproof Studios Ltd – The Room VR: A Dark Matter
Skydance Interactive – The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners
Schell Games – Until You Fall

VR Social Influencer (New Category)

Cas and Chary VR
Eric for President
Kent Bye
Nathie
ThrillSeeker
Virtual Reality Oasis

For further updates on the VR Awards 2020, keep reading VRFocus.

June 8, 2020

VRChat to Host 4th VR Awards in October

As many events have had to do this year, the annual VR Awards by the Academy of International Extended Reality (AIXR) will be online only. Today, the AIXR has announced a partnership with VRChat to host the event.

One of the longest-running virtual reality (VR) social platforms, VRChat has built a solid community thanks to customisable features. You can hop in and simply explore what’s been made, playing games or chatting with other users. Or for those who know how to use Unity, the VRChat SDK opens up a world of possibilities for the creation of avatars or new environments.

Hence why AIXR has partnered with the app to bring the 2020 VR Awards to life digitally. To help in this endeavour, the AIXR is seeking Unity creators from the VRChat and VR Awards community, whether they’re good at 3D animation, modelling, world-building and more.

If you’d like to get involved in an event celebrating the XR industry then fill out this form. Or if you just want to attend then you’ll need to download VRChat (which is free) for headsets like Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Valve Index. The awards are scheduled to take place on 27th October 2020.

“Our primary goal for this VR Awards was to create the most impressive VR event experience to date – We are proud to be joined on this journey by our industry partners as well as talented creators and VR fans from across the world,” says Daniel Colaianni, Chief Executive, AIXR, in a statement.

The VR Awards will be celebrating virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) content across 13 categories including VR Hardware of the Year, Rising VR Company of the Year, VR Education & Training of the Year and the Accenture Lifetime Achievement Award – which John Carmack won last year.

Nominations were originally supposed to close in May but due to the current pandemic, the AIXR extended the window until 11:30 PM BST / 3.30 PM PDT on 11th June 2020. And for this year’s event, there will be a new public voting portal although no further details have been revealed regarding how this will operate. Traditionally, all the VR Awards are selected by a panel of judges from the XR industry.

As further details regarding the 2020 VR Awards are released, VRFocus will let you know.

March 28, 2020

Nominations Have now Opened for the VR Awards 2020

Hosted by The Academy of International Extended Reality (AIXR), the annual VR Awards will be celebrating its fourth year in 2020 and because of the current pandemic will be going virtual for the first time. This week AIXR has opened the nominations, with 13 categories covering the breadth of virtual reality (VR) hardware and software.

VR Awards

The VR Awards will include the same categories as last year including the Accenture Lifetime Achievement Award which was previously won by John Carmack. While nominations will be deliberated on by an expert judging panel, 2020 will also feature a new public voting portal, with details released nearer the judging date.

“The VR Awards is the centre of recognition and celebration of achievement in VR. The nominations period is always an exciting period for us, as we get a chance to see some of the best projects from across the year. Going digital gives us a chance to bring those projects to the spotlight to more people than ever before,” said Daniel Colaianni, Chief Executive, AIXR in a statement.

VR Awards 2020 Categories

The VR Awards features 13 categories, including:

VR Hardware of the Year
VR Game of the Year
VR Experience of the Year
VR Film of the Year
VR Marketing of the Year
Rising VR Company of the Year
Innovative VR Company of the Year
VR Social Impact Award
VR Enterprise Solution of the Year
VR Education & Training of the Year
VR Healthcare of the Year
Out-of-Home VR Entertainment of the Year
Accenture Lifetime Achievement Award

AIXR

The nominations are open until 21st May 2020, with AIXR members entitled to one free complimentary nomination while non-members will have to pay. Each nomination costs £179+VAT GBP (total £214.80). VRFocus would assume the new public voting portal will be free to encourage consumers to vote but we’ll have to wait and see.

VRFocus will continue its coverage of the VR Awards 2020, reporting back with the latest news and updates.

March 17, 2020

AIXR’s 4th VR Awards Will be Going Virtual for 2020

While big events like the Game Developers Conference (GDC) and the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) are struggling to find relevance in 2020 due to the coronavirus, others are using the situation to explore steps into the future. The Academy of International Extended Reality (AIXR) which hosts the annual VR Awards has announced plans to hold a digital ceremony for the first time later this year.

VR Awards

The international VR Awards will be celebrating its fourth year in 2020 and now plans on doing things a little differently, using state of the art technology to offer a fully immersive awards show.

There are many months until the event takes place but the team have already revealed plans to feature a live studio panel, complete with pre-programmed livestreamed content which will supposedly be ‘indistinguishable from a televised physical show.’

“From day one of launching the VR Awards, our goal always was to transition to a virtual space, to allow creators, no matter their location, to join via their browser, phone, VR headset and more. Given world climates, we’ve been handed an opportunity to make this a reality, and it was an offer we couldn’t refuse to innovate on,” said Daniel Colaianni, Chief Executive, AIXR in a statement.

VR Awards 2019

Details on how this will be achieved have yet to be revealed but it does look like AIXR will be employing digital avatars in some respect. HTC will be holding its Vive Ecosystem Conference (HTC 2020 VEC) in VR using VR Education’s ENGAGE platform.

2019’s VR Awards were quite the event with puzzle title A Fisherman’s Tale securing the VR Game of the Year, beating the likes of Astro Bot Rescue Mission, Blood & Truth and Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice VR Edition. Oculus’ John Carmack – who stepped down as CTO to work on artificial general intelligence (AGI) – was given The Accenture VR Lifetime Achievement Award.

Nominations for the 2020 VR Awards begin next week on 26th March. AIXR will be running a series of webinars on 2nd and 23rd April 2020 for those interested in getting the most out of the nomination process, featuring last year’s winners. As further details regarding the new VR Awards format are released, VRFocus will keep you updated.

November 12, 2019

Oculus Quest & A Fisherman’s Tale Among VR Awards 2019 Winners

The VR Awards 2019 is the biggest event in the UK calendar celebrating the immersive industry. The categories covered everything from videogames and hardware to companies and individuals who have either shown the most promise or helped push the XR industry forward, with some very familiar names appearing.

The most prestigious of these awards given out was The Accenture VR Lifetime Achievement Award, handed to Oculus’ John Carmack, one of the most recognisable faces working in virtual reality (VR) today. Having worked at Oculus almost since the very beginning Carmack, and given keynote addresses at every Oculus Connect event over the last few years.

Then there 12 more awards given out, with VR Hardware of the Year going to Oculus again, this time for standalone headset Oculus Quest. Ever since its arrival in May, the Oculus Quest has seen a positive response from both consumers and developers alike. It’s all-in-one design and inside-out tracking means its one of the easiest headsets to use whilst having a growing library of premium content.

Another of the big awards was VR Game of the Year. This was possibly the most hotly contested category, with the likes of Astro Bot Rescue Mission, Blood & Truth and Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice VR Edition all nominated. The award went to original puzzler A Fisherman’s Tale by Innerspace VR & ARTE France, blending scale mechanics into a story-driven experience.

A Fishermans Tale Chapter04_Characters_Medium3

The VR Awards 2019 winners:

The Accenture VR Lifetime Achievement Award – John Carmack
VR Hardware of the Year – Oculus Quest
VR Game of the Year – A Fisherman’s Tale
VR Experience of the Year – Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series – Episode I
VR Film of the Year – Wolves in the Walls: It’s All Over
VR Marketing of the Year – Oasis Pocket Adventure: The Infrunite Slide
Rising VR Company of the Year – Fable Studio
Innovative VR Company of the Year – Emblematic Group
VR Social Impact Award – The 100% – Maggie’s Story
VR Enterprise Solution of the Year – VIROO: Virtualware Immersive Room
VR Education & Training of the Year – Working at Height
VR Healthcare of the Year – Fundamental Surgery
Out-of-Home VR Entertainment of the Year – War Remains

VRFocus will continue its coverage of The Academy of International Extended Reality (AIXR), reporting back with further announcements.

Category: The Academy of International Extended Reality