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 Noirby 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.
Delightful VR dungeon crawler, Demeo, has taken the Game of the Year prize at the annual VR Awards.
The ceremony was hosted last night, celebrating not just VR gaming but also hardware, enterprise, healthcare and a range of other categories. Demeo faced stiff competition including Star Wars: Squadrons and Tales From The Galaxy’s Edge, but ended up coming out on top of the 12-strong list.
Over on the hardware front, HP’s enterprise-focused Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition took home the prize. The device is similar to the consumer Reverb G2 that launched last year but includes extra biometric sensors for tracking user reactions in VR. This was an even tougher category than gaming, with HP facing off against the Oculus Quest 2, Vive Focus 3 and Varjo’s XR-3 among others.
Plenty of other apps and experiences were recognized over the evening. Atlas V and No Ghost’s Madrid Noir took home the prize for VR experience and 3DAR’s Paper Birds won VR film. You can check out the list of winners over on the VR Awards’ Twitter account.
Demeo’s win earns our nod of approval – we gave the game an Essential label when we reviewed it earlier this year, praising the strength of its social VR mechanics. The game’s still getting updates, too, with its anticipated third dungeon due next month.
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.
It’s nearly time for the annual VR Awards, hosted live in London. You’ll be able to watch this year’s show live on YouTube and in VR.
The show kicks off at 6:30pm UK/10:30am PT. You can watch it right here via a YouTube embed below. You’ll also be able to join the show in VR via Altspace by booking a free ticket over on the official website (which is available right up until the start of the stream). This will also include an exclusive in-VR experience that celebrates the history of VR.
Watch The VR Awards Live
As for what to expect from this year’s show? Well, The VR Awards celebrate all angles of the VR industry. So, yes, there’s a best game category with entries including Demeo and Star Wars: Squadrons, whilst you’ll also see enterprise, experiential and healthcare VR applications recognized.
Also confirmed today is the Accenture VR Lifetime Achievement Award, which will be granted to human interface pioneer, Thomas A. Furness III. Furness’ work in VR spans over five decades, having worked on some of the first VR systems for the US Air Force. He’ll be accepting his award holographically.
Plus, be on the lookout for a chance to win an Oculus Quest 2 during the stream. You can find out more info about how to enter on the official site.
Who are you hoping to see take home a VR Award this year? Let us know in the comments below!
The annual VR Awards organised by the Academy of International Extended Reality (AIXR) has become one of the most prestigious on the calendar with the fifth edition due to take place next week. Due to the success of the virtual awards held in 2020 due to the pandemic, AIXR will once again be hosting the VR Awards online for everyone to attend worldwide. VRFocus has all the details of how to visit and enjoy this innovative event.
The VR Awards 2021 is comprised of 12 categories covering the breadth of the XR industry, with all the winners selected by an expert panel of industry judges. All apart from the VR Game of the Year and VR Social Influencer of the Year which was open to public voting during September.
If you love a good awards show then the easiest way to enjoy the event next Thursday is via AltspaceVR. AIXR teamed up with the VR platform to create a whole new showcase that is entirely free to attend but you do need to book. Simply head to the VR Awards ticket section and choose the consumer option to attend the live ceremony, viewable via compatible VR headsets like Oculus Quest 2, HTC Vive and Valve Index. You’ll need an AltspaceVR account, of course, with the app freely available to download from Steam or the Oculus store.
Or for those who like the more personal, in-person approach tickets are still available for the event with prices starting from £79 GBP per person. More beneficial for those within the XR industry, it’ll be a chance for attendees to network and actually chat face to face, a rare situation only a few months ago.
“Last year brought about an extraordinary virtual celebration of the advances made in virtual reality across what was a highly unusual twelve months. Despite the constraints that COVID-19 presented, it is evident that innovation and progress in delivering virtual reality to all has not been hindered and we are looking forward to continuing to produce another ground-breaking award show to elevate VR experiences as the new normal,” said Daniel Colaianni, Chief Executive of AIXR in a statement.
VR Awards Finalists
VR Healthcare of the Year
BroadAR – Smell Revived
Health Scholars – Saving Kid’s Lives: VR Training for Pediatric Emergencies
Khora – The Challenge Project
Make Real Ltd – Make Real & NHS Blood Transplant – Aseptic Technique VR
AIXR is extending the nominations deadline for this year’s VR Awards into June.
Nominations for this year’s event — which will take place towards the end of 2021 — were due to end today, but they’re being extended out for another two weeks. They’ll now close on June 3rd.
VR Awards 2021 Nominations Extended
This year’s categories include 12 types. It recognizes apps, hardware and other services released between May 9th 2020 and July 1st 2021. That puts hardware like the Oculus Quest 2 and HP Reverb G2 in the running, along with recent games like Demeo (should their creators choose to put a nomination forward).
Here’s a list of this year’s categories:
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
You can find out more about submitting a nomination right here. Finalists will be announced in July and the awards ceremony itself should go ahead in November. Last year’s awards moved online and virtual in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and this year will do the same – you’ll be able to watch in-VR and on traditional platforms.
What do you want to see take home awards at this year’s show? Let us know in the comments below!
