12 Jun 2025
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AWE Team
AWE USA 2025 Day 3 Recap: Talks, XR Demos, and Community Highlights
AWE USA 2025
AWE USA 2025 closed out with real momentum. Attendees made the most of the final day—whether by catching one last session, revisiting the expo, or wrapping up conversations that could spark the next big thing. The energy stayed high as ideas turned into next steps and new relationships started taking shape.
Main Stage Highlights: Gaming, Wearables, and Spatial Futures
The day opened with a discussion on "The State of XR Gaming and What to Expect in the Future", with developers and studio leaders exploring what’s working—and what’s next—for immersive games.
Later, panelists from VoxelSensors, Mentra, STMicroelectronics, and Unanimous AI gathered for "How Wearables Help Reach Physical AI", examining how spatial technologies and sensors are bringing AI into the real world in meaningful ways. View in agenda
Track Sessions: Craft, Code, and Community
Across multiple themed tracks, the day offered plenty of ways to engage deeply:
- Developer Track: Terry Schussler from Deutsche Telekom talked about "Vibe Coding for XR" and how AI-driven development accelerates XR application creation.
- XR Enablement: Duke University’s Maria Gorlatova presented on using vision-language models to assess and secure immersive environments.
- Creator Track: Larry Chang of Larrisim Studio shared how spatial sound enhances storytelling in VR.
- Healthcare & Wellness: A continued look at XR in clinical simulation, patient care, and therapy.
Attendees used the quieter pace of the final day to engage more directly with speakers, dive into practical applications, and discover edge-case use stories.
Builders Nexus: Final Lightning Talks and Community Moments
Day 3 at the Builders Nexus Stage featured the final Lightning Talk session, spotlighting the winners of the Immersive Insiders XR Design Challenge. Hosted by Dinesh Punni, the session gave the winning teams a platform to share their project concepts, design processes, and insights from the challenge. It was followed by an Innovators Hour, where attendees connected with the teams to dive deeper into their work.
Gaming Hub: Continuing the XR Gaming Momentum
The Gaming Hub remained vibrant on the final day, featuring sessions that delved into various aspects of XR gaming. Highlights included:
- "Building a VR Game for Everyone" by Steve Lukas of ContractXR
- "Helping VR Creators Win" with Katherine Davenport from Another Axiom
- "Translating Classic Game Designs into MR (RTS Genre)" presented by Blake Gross and Dustin Kochensparger of DB Creations
The day culminated with a Game Developers Lightning Round, showcasing innovative projects and fostering discussions on the future of immersive gaming.
Playground: Final Stops and First-Time Discoveries
The AWE Playground kept the immersive spirit alive, offering over 25 unique activations and installations:
- Anywhere Bungee VR gave attendees a physical thrill with virtual elevation.
- Haptics demos showed how XR can engage all the senses.
- Collaborative art experiences invited users to co-create across spatial canvases.
🔗 See the full list of Playground experiences here
Best in Show & Event Wrap-Up
All presenting companies at AWE 2025 are automatically eligible for the Best in Show Award—no applications or sign-ups needed! The winner is handpicked based on buzz across the show floor, social media chatter, booth traffic, and overall wow-factor. Here are the winners:
- Best in Show: Snap
- Best in Show Playground: Anywere Bungee VR
- Best in Show Gaming Hub Winner: Trip The Light by Dark Arts
What’s Next: Stay Connected
While AWE USA 2025 comes to a close, the XR journey continues:
🖥️ Session recordings are on the way—subscribe to our YouTube channel to catch anything you missed or rewatch your favorites.🌏 AWE Asia 2026 lands in Singapore this August—join the global XR community in the heart of Southeast Asia.
🎟️ Super early bird tickets for AWE USA 2026 are already live—grab yours now for the best deal.
🇪🇺 United XR Brussels returns this fall—secure your spot at Europe’s most collaborative XR gathering.
📬 Stay in the loop with The Weekly Spatial—your go-to source for XR updates, industry news, and upcoming events.
Final Thanks
A heartfelt thank you to our speakers, exhibitors, partners, and especially our sponsors for powering another impactful year of AWE. And to the thousands who joined us in Long Beach—whether for the first time or the sixteenth—we’re grateful to have you as part of the community
