AWE Celebrates Innovation and Legacy in an Unforgettable Milestone for the XR Industry
LONG BEACH, Calif., June 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Augmented World Expo USA 2025 is a wrap! The world’s largest event for XR and spatial computing concluded today with the announcement of BEST IN SHOW winners:
Best in Show – Snap Inc.
Best in Show Playground – Anywhere Bungee VR
Best in Show Gaming Hub – TRIP THE LIGHT by Dark Arts Software
The winners for the Virtual World Society Nextant Prizes, presented by Tom Furness and Alvin Graylin, are:
Rising Star Prize – Danny Pimentel
Legacy Prize – Jaron Lanier
The XR industry is also celebrating a new lineup of champions. The Auggie Awards have been the most recognized XR and spatial computing industry awards in the world since 2010. Now in their 16th year, the Auggies continue to showcase the best of the best.
20 of the world’s most innovative and game-changing developers, brands and creators were recognized with Auggie Awards. See the full list below. In addition,10 pioneers of XR were celebrated by the 2025 XR Hall of Fame, recognizing their lasting contributions to the field. The full list of inductees can be viewed here.
AWE USA 2025 was packed with exciting news from exhibitors including Snap, Qualcomm, Niantic Spatial, XREAL, Lenovo and more. See highlights of announcements from the show — here.
The Auggie Award winners are…..
Best Art or Film – Non-Player Character Musical by Brendan Bradley: The first live, interactive VR musical, debuting with 24 shows at the 2024 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Video here.
Best Campaign – OREO X PAC-MAN SUPERMARCADE by ARKx | Form & Fun |Saatchi & Saatchi Germany: AR shopping experience turning supermarket aisles into a Pac-Man maze, combining digital fun with physical retail via WebAR. Video here.
Best Climate Change Solution – Burn Zone: Immersive Truths from California’s Wildfires by Lucid Reality Labs: VR experience immersing viewers in the Los Angeles wildfires, fostering empathy and action through an exploration of environmental devastation and climate adaptation. Video here.
Best Collaboration Tool – Campfire: A platform for sharing 3D models in life-size spatial environments, enabling real-time collaboration for faster feedback, fewer errors, and quicker product delivery. Video here.
Best Consumer App – Pencil! by 4th Wall Breakers: AR-powered drawing app that blends real paper and pencils with mixed-reality lessons, making learning drawing skills fun and easy for all levels. Video here.
Best Content Creator(s) – Dilmer Valecillos XR YouTube Channel by Learn XR LLC: Resource for XR developers, offering tutorials and deep dives into AR/VR tools, simplifying complex tech into practical content that empowers a global community and highlights the latest innovations. Video here.
Best Creator & Authoring Tool – Niantic Studio: 8th Wall’s web-based visual editor lets anyone build and deploy immersive AR/XR experiences with real-time editing, drag-and-drop tools, and advanced features—no coding or app needed. Video here.
Best Developer Tool – Lens Studio by Snap Inc: Free AR authoring platform used by 375,000+ creators to design and deploy custom AR experiences across Snapchat, websites, apps, and Spectacles, featuring tools like Ray Tracing, Snap ML, and Lens Cloud. Video here.
Best Education & Training Solution – XR Guru Healthcare Pathways Training by XR Guru: AI-powered VR training platform offering immersive, language-supported healthcare courses for CNA, LPN, and nursing licensure, featuring critical thinking exercises and patient simulations. Video here.
Best Enterprise Solution – Cactus by Auki Labs – Spatial AI for Retail by Auki Labs: A spatial AI solution that optimizes shelf space, workforce management, and operations, providing real-time insights and integrating with robots and AI to revolutionize retail. Video here.
Best Game or Toy – Spatial Ops by Resolution Games: A groundbreaking multiplayer shooter that turns real-world spaces into dynamic battlefields, blending physical and digital realities with customizable arenas and immersive game modes like Free-for-All and Capture the Flag. Video here.
Best Headworn Device – XREAL One Series by XREAL: Pioneering cinematic AR glasses with next-gen 3DoF spatial computing, Bose sound, and an optional 6DoF camera, setting a new standard in AR with exceptional visual and audio performance. Video here.
Best Healthcare & Wellness Solution – Fundamental Surgery by FundamentalVR: Multimodal spatial computing platform transforming vision care and surgical training with immersive simulations and real-time multi-user capabilities to train clinicians in sight-restoring procedures, improving global healthcare outcomes. Video here.
Best Indie Creator(s) – Ferryman Collective: VR theatre company redefining live performance with award-winning productions like The Severance Theory and Gumball Dreams, earning accolades at festivals like Tribeca, SXSW, and Venice. Video here.
Best Interaction Product – Omni One by Virtuix Inc: Immersive entertainment system combining a specialized treadmill, standalone VR headset, and game store access, with wireless SteamVR connection for an expanded gaming experience. Video here.
Best Location-Based Entertainment – AR in Google Maps for Paris Olympics by Rock Paper Reality & Google: AR experience embedding 3D models of Paris landmarks into Google Maps, offering immersive, geospatial explorations via Google Lens and Street View, revolutionizing location-based AR. Video here.
Best Societal Impact – Sign Language Translator by Frame Sixty, LLC: Real-time sign language translation app for Apple Vision Pro that instantly converts sign language into speech and text, enabling seamless communication between Deaf and hearing individuals. Video here.
Best Use of AI – Medical AI Agent by Lucid Reality Labs: AI-driven training solution featuring a digital twin of Dr. Patrick Schoettker, offering real-time expert feedback and immersive XR simulations to enhance healthcare education and reduce errors. Video here.
Best Web3 Implementation – The Posemesh by Auki Labs by Auki Labs: A decentralized machine perception network using Auki Network and Posemesh to enable privacy-preserving spatial computing, powering collaborative mapping for XR and robotics.
Video here.
Start Up to Watch – Verse Immersive by Enklu
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SOURCE AWE (Augmented World Expo)
