AWE USA 2025 is ready to incorporate audio system from a number of the largest names within the XR trade, together with Oculus & Anduril founder Palmer Luckey, together with Jason Rubin—one of many solely remaining early Oculus executives—who’s presently Meta’s Vice President of Metaverse Experiences. Additionally on the roster is Vicki Dobbs Beck, the vice chairman of ILM Immersive, the studio behind XR variations of Star Wars, Marvel, and extra.
AWE USA is without doubt one of the largest and longest-running XR-focused conferences on the earth, and has change into our must-go XR occasion.
This 12 months AWE USA can be held in Lengthy Seaside, California from June tenth to twelfth, and it’s anticipated to be the largest but, with greater than 6,000 attendees, 300 exhibitors, 400 audio system, and a 150,000 Sqft expo ground. Early-bird tickets are nonetheless obtainable, and Highway to VR readers can get an unique 20% low cost on tickets to the occasion.
Among the many 400+ audio system giving displays on the occasion are representatives of a variety of XR trade firms, together with Palmer Luckey, Jason Rubin, and Vicki Dobbs Beck.
Palmer Luckey is the founding father of Oculus, the startup acquired by Meta in 2014 to kickstart the corporate’s XR ambitions. After overseeing the launch of Meta’s first main XR headset, the Oculus Rift CV1, Luckey was ousted from Meta following political backlash for his actions pertaining to the 2016 US presidential race.
Years later, Meta made up with Luckey by inviting him to see a preview of its newest AR headset (Mission Orion). This was adopted by a public apology from Meta’s prime XR government, Andrew ‘Boz’ Bosworth, who mentioned “I’m grateful for the impression you made [Meta] and in creating VR total. Wanting ahead to displaying you extra of our work sooner or later.”
The ousting will need to have been heartwrenching for the Oculus founder who performed no small half in making XR what it’s in the present day; however a tiny silver-lining did emerge… Luckey went on to discovered the army tech contractor Anduril, which has grown to its present valuation of round $18 billion—placing him within the very uncommon membership of people that have based a couple of multi-billion greenback firm.
Although his pivot to army tech appeared to take him removed from his ardour for XR, simply final week Anduril introduced it’s now spearheading the army AR headset undertaking initially undertaken by Microsoft.
On the occasion we count on to listen to Luckey speak extra about this undertaking and what it means for XR tech in America’s army forces.
AWE USA 2025 will even see a chat from Jason Rubin, one of many solely remaining Oculus executives nonetheless at Meta, presently serving as the corporate’s Vice President of Metaverse Experiences.
Rubin joined Oculus in 2014 and was a key determine in guiding the early content material investments and technique following the corporate’s acquisition by Meta. Since then he has shuffled between fairly just a few roles inside the firm, with most pertaining to gaming content material and partnerships.
At AWE we count on to listen to Rubin speak extra about Meta’s evolving imaginative and prescient for the metaverse.
Rubin gained’t be the one seasoned gaming government current on the occasion. We’ll additionally hear from Vicki Dobbs Beck, the Vice President of Immersive Content material at ILM Immersive, the interactive division of Lucasfilm.
As a co-founder of the division, Dobbs Beck has overseen the manufacturing of award-winning XR content material that has introduced enormous IP into the immersive realm. That features the likes of the Vader Immortal collection and Marvel’s What If…? – An Immersive Expertise, one of many first main productions to land on Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional.
Throughout her speak we count on to listen to extra about what’s subsequent for ILM Immersive and the way the division expects story-driven immersive experiences to pan out with a rising variety of standalone headsets out there.
Highway to VR is proud to be the Premier Media Companion of AWE USA 2025, permitting us to supply readers an unique 20% low cost on tickets to the occasion.
