FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Press contact: Claire Weingarten claire@livingmachinesmedia.com

The Polys

4th Annual WebXR Awards

Live in VR and Across Worlds Sunday March 3rd

New York, NY - February 27, 2024: The future of interactive digital experiences takes center stage at the 4th Annual Polys WebXR Awards, taking place on Sunday, March 3rd celebrating the most innovative developers and transformative experiences in WebXR. 

The Polys is considered “The Oscars of Immersive Media” with the production transcending and breaking the fourth wall of extended reality. The live Polys show blends physical and virtual production worlds in a hybrid event broadcast live on YouTube with a watch party in the Engage VR Platform for global participation.

The red carpet preshow will broadcast live from Planet X Studios in Brooklyn on Sunday March 3rd, 2024 at 5pm Eastern - 2pm Pacific with interviews hosted by Sophia Moshasha followed by the 4th Annual Polys awards show hosted by Julie Smithson. 

Interested attendees can register at: https//bit.ly/polys4; press and media are welcome to RSVP by email to interview guests and nominees in VR or live at the NYC live event.

The POLYS awards show pushes the boundaries of streaming and 3D media featuring the best in virtual reality and immersive production. Presenters at the Polys spotlight groundbreaking achievements in WebXR with innovators and creators shaping digital futures. 

The Polys WebXR Awards have woven innovation into every aspect of their production. The result is an awards show that is on par with the industry leading work that they recognize."
 James George, Co-founder & CEO @ Scatter, Creators of Depthkit

“We’re building the award show for the future of content, which is Immersive Media. We use spatial computing to celebrate spatial computing,”
notes Ben Erwin, Creator, Writer, and Executive Producer of The Polys Awards. 

Some of the nominated experience being celebrated are:

  • Fatboy Slim’s “Eat, Sleep, VR, Repeat” concert produced by Engage VR - the concert leverages the limitless possibilities of VR to create a unique, immersive experience that could only happen in a virtual space. From dancing with aliens to skydiving while Fatboy Slim mixes live, the event showcases the potential of VR technology to redefine the live music experience, making it a pioneering project in the XR field​.
  • Frame.io - the immersive platform seamlessly integrates a wide range of features like spatialized voice chat, no-code customization, and the ability to host up to 1,000 participants in a single Frame, it offers an accessible and immersive experience across desktop, mobile, and VR platforms.
  • WOL by Niantic - represents a significant step forward in WebAR technology, providing a template for future immersive, educational content that leverages the best of AI and mixed reality​.
  • The Escape Artist- represents a significant advancement in WebXR, seamlessly blending immersive storytelling, deep interaction design, and bold art direction to create a pioneering narrative VR experience directly accessible via the web, without necessitating any app store downloads​.

WebXR is the cornerstone of an interconnected 3D web, offering a unified canvas for creators to weave together the fabric of virtual experiences. The Poly Awards is a hub for XR innovation employing state-of-the-art production techniques to merge virtual places with humans on a real stage receiving holographic awards, showcasing the limitless potential of immersive media.

The evening is sponsored by Cesium, the 3D Geospatial Platform. 

The virtual poly trophies are 3D models enshrined in Holographic Displays, sponsored by Looking Glass. DJ Celeste is remixing the iconic Polys fanfare music.

See the full list of nominations including links to the experiences on the Polys website: https://thepolys.com/nominees/ 

How to watch:

When: Sunday, March 3rd, 2024 

One Hour Red Carpet begins at 5pm Eastern / 2pm Pacific, followed by the ceremony

Where: live on YouTube https://bit.ly/watchpolys4 

ENGAGE Watch Party
Join in VR for a Watch Party in The Polys Red Carpet Theater in ENGAGE.
Space is limited for this event hosted by MetaCities,  RSVP at https://bit.ly/polys4engage 

Contact: Claire Weingarten at claire@livingmachinesmedia.com

You can find our public social media assets folder for the 4th Polys at
https://bit.ly/4thPolysPressKit

A case study of last year’s groundbreaking show, the first 3D awards show to broadcast live from Scatter’s Volumetric capture stage can be viewed at https://youtu.be/X5ToIcsxioI featuring The Polys’ Immersive Content development team Cause+Christi. 

About The Polys WebXR Awards: The Polys are an industry recognition and award for immersive content serving as a launchpad for leaders in VR, XR and spatial computing. It is the only award that celebrates the makers, creators, and developers who are building holographic futures in the immersive web, empowering creatives and inspiring others to join this exciting field. 

What is XR? Extended reality devices including smart glasses and passthrough “XR” headsets allow for 360 degree immersive and interactive experiences with the ability to see through the head-worn display. Apple’s new Vision Pro headset is an example of a spatial computing or XR device.

Keywords: XR, VR, AR, MR, 6DOF, WebXR, Spatial, Spatial Computing, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality, Extended Reality, Metaverse, Immersive, Immersive Experiences, Immersive Event, Fatboy Slim, VR Concert, Innovation Awards, WebXR Development, Holographic Technology, Ceremony, Oscars, Academy Awards, Apple Vision Pro, Engage VR, YouTube, VR Content Creators, WebXR Awards, 2024 Polys WebXR Awards, Polys Event, Awards shows, Awards, Computing, Digital Media, Live Shows, Headset, DJ Celeste, Spatial Reality, 3D, 3D web, Interoperability, Innovation, Unreal Engine, Engagement

Honorees

  • Community:  Paige Dansinger
  • Lifetime Achievement: Neil Trevett, NVIDIA, Metaverse Standards Forum
  • Ombudsperson of the Year: Micaela Mantegna
  • XR Elevation Award: David Whelan and David McDermott, Engage VR
  • Norman Cook (Fatboy Slim)

Nominees

  • Elysium by Elixr Games, Felix Zhang
  • Code Name: Spectral Dawn by Tristan James.
  • The Escape Artist by Paradowski Creative, James C. Kane
  • Dead Secret Circle by Timmy Sorskoot Kokke
  • HoverFit by the Fitness Resort, Playko Studios, and White Rabbit
  • F60 by Ariel Cohen
  • DigiVid19 by Prefrontal Cortex and Felix Herbst
  • Pan Studio by Tristan James
  • Climate: El Nino Predictions by Flow Immersive
  • AR Shopping by Ethereal Engine
  • Molecular WebXR by Fabio Cortes Rodriguez and Luciano Abriata
  • Wol by Niantic, Liquid City and Inworld.a.i.
  • T-Mobile, Business 5G Track at the Las Vegas Grand Prix™ by Big Rock Creative and Ethereal Engine
  • HoverFit by the Fitness Resort
  • Dead Secret Circle by Timmy Sorskoot Kokke 
  • Paleo California by Anthropology Professor Dr. Keith Chan
  • Megaminds “I Have a Dream” 
  • Molecular WebXR by Fabio Cortes Rodriguez and Luciano Abriata at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne
  • The Matanza-Riachuelo Experience by Jimmy Vainstein and The World Bank
  • HeyVR.io by Marc Neuhoff and Ferry Abt
  • 3D Street Viewer by Kieran Farr
  • FRAME by Gabe Baker and team
  • Immersive Web Emulator by Felix Joung and Meta Reality Labs
  • FIVARS Online Festival, by Keram Malicki Sanchez and James Baicoianu
  • Arrival.Space by Lisa Maria Wurzinger, Gero Egger, and Thomas Richter Trummer

Presenters

  • Nicole Lazzaro
  • Patrick Cozzi, Cesium
  • Tom Furness, Virtual World Society
  • Andy Fidel
  • Tom Emrich, Niantic
  • Joanna Popper
  • Brittan Heller
  • Sonya Haskins, Augmented World Expo
  • Renard Jenkins
  • Felix Zhang
  • Evo Heyning

Sponsors
Platinum Sponsors: Cesium and Planet X Studios

Gold Sponsors: Looking Glass and Cause+Christi Immersive XR Design

The Poly Awards is an ongoing professional collaboration on behalf of the XR industries which includes Powersimple. MetaVRse, XR Women, RealityCraft, XR Connected, 3lbXR; with support from Keyframe Entertainment, All These Worlds, Silicon Harlem, ENGAGE, VArtisans, Nowhere, Metacities, StoryTech, Spatial Networks, AWE, and the VR/AR Association.