2024 Year-End Recap & 2025 Kickstarter

2024: A Year of Impact, Innovation, and What’s Next for 2025!

🚀 AUREA Award Winner, a New Horizon Worlds Exhibit, and a Kickstarter Launch—2025 is Going to Be Big!

As we turn the page on an incredible 2024, we’re taking a moment to celebrate the huge milestones the Virtual Worlds Museum™ has achieved this year—and to invite you to be part of our next chapter.

From winning one of the most prestigious awards in immersive media to expanding our exhibits and launching a Kickstarter campaign, we’re setting the stage for an even bigger 2025. Let’s dive into the highlights!

AUREA Impact Award Winner!

We’re beyond proud to share that the Virtual Worlds Museum™, in partnership with Arrival.Space, has been awarded the AUREA Impact Award—one of the highest honors in the immersive industry!

Huge congratulations to the Winners and we hope to collaborate with them in the future:

Immersion: Aquascope Moment Factory

Innovation: Kōkua Nanea Reeves & TRIPP, Inc.

Interaction: Skatrix Pro Kasimir Lehto & Reality Crisis

Impact: Lisa Maria Egger, Arrival.space & Julian Reyes, Virtual Worlds Museum

Creative: Nocturnal Fugue Botao Amber Hu

Our WebXR Worlds Exhibit hosted on Arrival.Space was recognized for its role in preserving and celebrating the history of virtual worlds, bringing together education, storytelling, and innovation. This award cements our mission: to ensure digital worlds are not forgotten but instead showcased as part of our cultural heritage.

The performances throughout the event showcased the creative potential of XR, merging technology with art in ways that captivated and inspired attendees. The synergy of these elements made the AUREA Award a truly unforgettable experience.

The AUREA Awards honor trailblazing projects shaping the future of XR, and we’re honored to be among an incredible lineup of innovators:

🔹 2Sync SDK by 2sync.io – A mixed reality platform enabling room-adaptive immersive experiences.

🔹 Aquascope by Moment Factory – An interactive water park with immersive lighting, video mapping, and spatial sound.

🔹 GroKit Core by 3lbXR – A low-code development platform accelerating XR application creation.

🔹 Kōkua AI by TRIPP – An AI-powered wellness coach offering mental health support across XR platforms.

🔹 EMIXAR – A global art exhibition merging visionary art with XR to engage all five senses.

🔹 Nocturnal Fugue – A sensory experience using echolocation to simulate a bat’s perception of the world.

🔹 ReCollection – An AI-driven installation that reconstructs memories through text-to-image technology.

🔹 Skatrix Pro by Reality Crisis – A mixed reality skateboarding experience, curated by pro skater Rodney Mullen.

🔹 Skybox AI by Blockade Labs – A tool for generating 360° virtual worlds from simple text prompts.

Being recognized alongside game-changing projects is a huge milestone for the Virtual Worlds Museum™. This award fuels our commitment to preserving the digital frontier and ensuring that the evolution of virtual worlds is documented, explored, and celebrated.

Thank you to our partners, supporters, and the AUREA jury for recognizing the importance of our work!

‍

‍

Kickstarter Campaign is now live! Click here.

This crowd funder will enable us to continue developing innovative exhibits and expanding our collection. We invite you to join us in this journey and contribute to the growth of the Virtual Worlds Museum™.

‍

‍

‍

‍

New Horizon Worlds Exhibit: VR & Apps – Now Open!

We’re expanding our digital footprint with a brand-new exhibit inside Horizon Worlds!

The Virtual Worlds Museum™ is expanding its presence in the metaverse with an exciting new exhibit inside Horizon Worlds! Our latest addition, the “VR & Apps” Exhibit, offers visitors an interactive exploration of the latest innovations in virtual reality applications—showcasing how VR is shaping everything from gaming and wellness to collaboration and entertainment.

With Meta’s continued investment in social VR, the Virtual Worlds Museum™ is committed to documenting and celebrating these advances—ensuring that future generations can look back on how these platforms transformed digital interaction. 🚀

🎟 Visit the exhibit now: VR and Apps Exhibit

‍VirtualWorlds Museum’s Spotlight #5: Spatial.io

Our latest Spotlight Video takes you inside Spatial.io, where we dive into the preservation of virtual worlds.

Join our researcher In Kenzo and AI archivist SEHU as they teleport into an interview with Jake Steinerman of Spatial.io and world-builder Lisbet. This fifth episode showcases the many ways the Virtual Worlds Museum™ is actively documenting and archiving the evolution of immersive platforms.

🎥 Catch up on our Spotlight Videos: More episodes on our Spotlight Videos here.

‍

SplitX Conference

Julian Reyes, Director of the Virtual Worlds Museum Speaks at SplitX Summit.

This year, our Director, Julian Reyes, took the stage at SplitX Summit, joining VR pioneer Tony Parisi and 3D creative leader Cynthia Maller in a powerful discussion on the intersection of art and technology.

The conversation sparked audience engagement, ignited fresh ideas, and reinforced the role of immersive technology in shaping digital culture.

We’re honored to have been part of this global platform for innovation—and excited to keep the momentum going!

SplitX Summit 2024. SplitX is a global platform dedicated to exploring the intersection of technology and innovation, and it was a privilege to contribute to the conversation.

‍‍The Power of Partnerships: Arrival.Space

Arrival.Space has been an invaluable partner in our journey, helping bring our vision to life. Their expertise and collaboration have been essential to our mission.

Learn more about their work and how they’re supporting the future of virtual worlds: Arrival.Space

What’s Next? A Groundbreaking 2025 Ahead!

This is just the beginning. With new exhibits, expanded research, and a growing community of supporters like you, the Virtual Worlds Museum™ is gearing up for its biggest year yet.

Thank you for being part of this journey. Together, we’re preserving the past, shaping the present, and building the future of immersive experiences.

✨