Pioneers in XR: Elevating Games, Sport and Immersive Reality | AVimmerse

In May 2024, AVimmerse curated Pioneers in XR: Elevate Your Game Reality, a live community event exploring how extended reality is reshaping games, sport, and immersive entertainment. Hosted at the University of Salford’s MediaCity campus, the evening brought together developers, researchers, studios, and creatives working at the forefront of XR innovation.

Rather than focusing on hype, the event examined how XR technologies are being applied in real-world production, from elite sports training to immersive game design and emerging creative pipelines.

Pioneers in XR: Exploring the Intersection of XR, Performance and Play

The core theme of Pioneers in XR was simple: how immersive technologies can meaningfully enhance performance, engagement, and creativity.

Talks and discussions explored:

• The use of virtual reality in elite sports training and performance analysis.

• XR game development pipelines and independent studio practice.

• The creative and technical crossover between games, sport, film, and interactive media.

• The skills and pathways required for the next generation of immersive creators.

The evening highlighted XR not as a novelty, but as a practical, evolving toolset being shaped by people working across disciplines.

Industry Voices from Games and Sports XR

The event featured speakers actively shaping the XR landscape.

Adam Dickinson, Co-Founder and Development Director at Rezzil, shared insights into building world-leading VR sports training platforms. His work spans elite football clubs, applied research, and performance-driven XR systems that are now embedded within professional sport environments.

Alex Moretti, Co-Founder and CEO of Fallen Planet Studios, spoke about the realities of independent VR game development. Drawing on over a decade of studio experience, he discussed immersive design, sustainability in VR production, and the creative challenges of building meaningful player experiences.

Together, the talks offered a grounded view of what it takes to develop, deploy, and sustain XR products in competitive industries.

A Curated Community Event

Pioneers in XR was curated by Keith Myers (AVimmerse) and Dr Maria Stukoff (University of Salford) with the aim of creating an open, inclusive space for knowledge exchange.

The audience included:

• Students and early-career developers.

• Independent studios and creative technologists.

• Researchers and educators.

• Industry professionals exploring XR adoption.

The event encouraged conversation as much as presentation, with a fireside XR discussion, open Q&A, and informal networking continuing into the evening at MediaCity.

Supporting Skills, Pathways and Regional Talent

The event also marked activity connected to the University of Salford’s HEIF-funded 3D Unity Centre of Excellence on Campus programme.

This initiative focuses on:

• Strengthening industry-aligned immersive skills.

• Supporting local and regional talent pipelines.

• Creating recognised pathways into XR, games, and creative technology careers.

By bringing industry and academia into the same room, Pioneers in XR demonstrated how community-led events can play a vital role in building sustainable creative ecosystems.

Why Events Like This Matter

As XR continues to mature, the need for thoughtful, experience-led discussion becomes more important than ever. Events like Pioneers in XR create space to share lessons learned, demystify technology, and connect people across sectors who may not otherwise meet.

For AVimmerse, the event reflects an ongoing commitment to:

• Knowledge sharing and community building.

• Supporting emerging talent and ideas.

• Connecting immersive technology with real-world impact.

Many of the ideas explored at Pioneers in XR now inform AVimmerse’s wider immersive studio work

, spanning games, training simulations, and place-based digital experiences.