Winner 2025

Also nominated

JAN & DAVE AR/AI SPIEGEL
JAN & DAVE STUDIOS, HAMBURG

VIRTUAL EXHIBIT XR FOR AUDI
SXCES COMMUNICATION AG, HAMBURG

DZT-MIXED REALITY APP „UNESCO-WELTERBESTÄTTEN IN DEUTSCHLAND“
DEUTSCHE ZENTRALE FÜR TOURISMUS E.V., FRANKFURT AM MAIN

SAMSUNG GAME APP „TRAILS OF WONDER“

HEADRAFT GMBH, HAMBURG

Challenge: Gen Z is tech-savvy, nature-loving, and searching for authentic experiences. How can Samsung convince them that the Galaxy S24 is the perfect companion for their lifestyle?

Idea: Real outdoor adventure meets virtual worlds. Nature becomes the playground – seamlessly interacting with the smartphone.

Solution: With the AR app Trails of Wonder, users embark on immersive adventures across green spaces and specially designed Komoot trails, guided by a generative AI companion. Interactive AR elements blur the boundaries between game and reality, transforming outdoor exploration into a hybrid experience.

Trails of Wonder makes stepping outside exciting again – positioning Samsung as the ideal partner for Gen Z.

PEAK RHYTHM

ZEITLOS INTERACTIVE GMBH, WIEN

Peak Rhythm is a VR rhythm-climbing game where players ascend vertical routes on the backs of their mechs in sync with the music. Blending rhythm and precision in a PvP hyper-sport, success comes from mastering movement and staying on beat. Inspired by Solarpunk aesthetics and Hyperpop energy, Peak Rhythm offers a competitive experience where music drives momentum. Built by a student team as their first commercial title, the game combines innovative grip mechanics, dynamic multiplayer modes, and immersive beatmapping refined through extensive testing and feedback. Players race in real time, reacting to custom-designed rhythmic patterns while tracking opponents’ progress mid-climb. The project began in a university setting and evolved through public showcases, pitch events, and collaboration with Austrian musicians. With its fresh mechanics and bold audiovisual identity, Peak Rhythm aims to push VR rhythm games into new creative territory.

Also nominated

BALLEE
CHRISTOPH SPINGER, BERLIN

ELVEN ARROWS
2SYNC GMBH, POTSDAM

Also nominated

EVEER – EDUCATIONAL VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT FOR EPIDEMIC RESPONSE.
STUDIO MONSTRUM, HAMBURG

HIER UND DAMALS
PHILIPP QUAST, REINBEK

UNHOME – ÜBERLEBEN AUF DER STRASSE

CURIOUS COMPANY GMBH X GOBANYO GMBH, HAMBURG

UNHOME

lets us experience homelessness like never before. For the first time, we see it through our own eyes. This VR experience offers an emotional shift in perspective that redefines learning: imagine losing your job. Over time, you also lose your support network, your savings – and eventually, every bit of hope.
You are homeless.

UNHOME delivers decision-based storytelling with realistic consequences.

Developed together with the NGO GoBanyo, UNHOME is rooted in authentic expertise and combines immersive technology with social education. Accompanied by teaching materials, it is successfully used in educational settings. Studies conducted by Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences confirm its strong impact: especially young people reflect on their own life situations through the experience and gain a deep understanding of the issue.

In this way, UNHOME becomes a powerful tool for education, awareness, and social change.

LICHTUNG

CYRIL FISCHER, LUDWIGSBURG

You enter a calm yet unfamiliar world, lying dormant as you arrive. As you explore its surroundings, the world gradually opens up, revealing its light. The more you engage with it, the more you become enveloped in a soothing yet lively awakening, full of surprises.

Also nominated

FLOAT
MOUSEWORKS, NEU-ULM

HOME OVERLAY – SMART HOME CONTROL IN MIXED REALITY
MIRCO HÜLSEMANN, HAMBURG

Also nominated

PALAST DER ERINNERUNG
CYBERRÄUBER GBR, DÜSSELDORF

DIE HEINZEL ZU KÖLN / HEINZELEXPRESS
TIMERIDE GMBH, KÖLN

ARENA DEFENDER

BRIGHT! GMBH, MAINTAL

Red Bull challenged us to create an immersive stadium experience that engaged all visitors using cutting-edge technology. With Arena Defender, we created a fast-paced Mixed Reality game played during third breaks. Using the Red Bulls app, fans design virtual balls that are launched onto the ice, while four MR-equipped players try to defend them. A central portal, moving targets, lasers, and a Pachinko-inspired entry system add excitement and fairness. Real-time interactions and customization turn fans into active participants. Loyalty points and prize incentives deepen brand connection, creating a unique, emotionally engaging experience that extends beyond the event itself.

OUT OF NOWHERE

KRIS HOFMANN, WIEN

Out of Nowhere is a 10 min standalone VR experience (interactive docufiction, available in English and German). The piece gently explores how preserving alluvial forests, marshes and wetlands can help us face the challenges of an ever angrier, unpredictable climate. Told through the eyes of Anna, a lifelong resident of Hallein in Austria, the experience flows from a personal memory of the devastating floods that hit Europe in 2021 to reveal how reconnecting with nature may be key to protecting ourselves going forward. Every month we hear about yet another devastating extreme weather event—in Nigeria, Pakistan, or Texas, but also close to home, with severe floods in Austria and Germany. Each one of these events carries stories of personal loss, but also of inspiring resilience. If we can come together in the aftermath of a disaster, shouldn’t we be able to do so in preparation? Restoring healthy riverine ecosystems isn’t just good ecology—it’s self-preservation.

Also nominated

SONA – VR DESIGNED BY BLIND PEOPLE
SONA, KÖLN

DARKER SKY VR
SHAPE-SHIFT STUDIO GMBH, HAMBURG

Also nominated

D-DAY: THE CAMERA SOLDIER
TARGO, FRANCE

HUMAN WITHIN
SIGNAL SPACE LAB, KANADA

XR-IT – NON-LOCAL VIRTUAL PRODUCTION „CAT CONTENT“

TRANS REALITIES LAB / DESIGN ACADEMY EINDHOVEN, NIEDERLANDE

The Trans Realities Lab at the Design Academy Eindhoven developed the XR-IT technology for non-local virtual production, linking various motion capture systems with the Meta Quest Pro’s tracking and face capture inside Unreal Engine.

This setup enabled actors in the Netherlands and Finland to perform together simultaneously for the short film Cat Content, which explores the concept of non-locality in quantum physics in an emotional and artistic way.

SEA SHEPHERD – FOR THE OCEAN: EIN INTERAKTIVES LERNSPIEL ÜBER DIE MISSION VON SEA SHEPHERD

EVENT PUNKS GMBH IN KOOPERATION MIT SEA SHEPHERD GLOBAL, BREMEN

Sea Shepherd for the Ocean is an immersive (VR) Roblox experience that introduces children worldwide to the mission of Sea Shepherd Global: protecting the oceans.

Through interactive quests, exciting rescue missions, and the charismatic guide Gideon FiveBraidBeard, young players experience firsthand why safeguarding marine ecosystems matters – and how they can become part of the mission themselves.

The game combines education and entertainment on a global platform reaching millions of children, embedding environmental awareness directly into the digital world of a new generation.

An internationally produced project created in collaboration between Sea Shepherd Global and Event Punks, Sea Shepherd for the Ocean extends its impact far beyond the screen – empowering young audiences to care, act, and protect our oceans.

Also nominated

THE TRACES OF PAPER
DEUSENS, SPANIEN

VR-SPORTHALLE – INNOVATIVE BEWEGUNGSERZIEHUNG IN DER SOZIALPÄDAGOGISCHEN AUSBILDUNG
SVEN ERNSTSON & TIM FEDKENHAUER, GIFHORN