Immersive at SXSW 2025: XR, Activations, and Beyond

The 38th edition of SXSW has come to a close, wrapping up another whirlwind 10-day celebration of creativity, technology, and storytelling from March 7–15. This year’s festival featured insightful talks & panels from familiar names like Meow Wolf, COSM, Future of Storytelling, The Phi Centre, WXO, and our very own Founder/Publisher, Noah Nelson.

As always, immersive found its place at SXSW in a multitude of ways — through the official XR programming and its corresponding XR Expo, within marketing activations vying for attention amidst the festival’s promotional frenzy, and in a host of unexpected corners, both official and unofficial.

Official XR Programming

The XR Expo at SXSW, which took over multiple floors of the Austin Fairmont, was packed with narrative-driven VR pieces, AI-powered installations, and augmented reality adventures. With over 30 projects on display, many of which were 30+ minutes in length and had limited capacity, it was impossible to experience them all, but here are some of the pieces we experienced from this year’s selection.

Face Jumping | Tender Claws

Tender Claws’ delightfully surreal and experimental VR work is on full display in their newest piece Face Jumping. Utilizing the Quest Pro’s eye-tracking technology, the piece allows participants to shift perspectives by making eye contact with different characters, animals, and anthropomorphized objects. With moments of humor, intrigue, and tension, Face Jumping proved to be one of the most engaging experiences on display, and well deserving of the SXSW XR Experience Audience Award.

Uncanny Alley: A New Day | Ferryman Collective

Ferryman Collective’s most recent work, Uncanny Alley: A New Day, transports audiences into a post-apocalyptic world inhabited entirely by robots, where a menacing mega-corporation seeks to gain control over their systems. While live VR performance might face limitations due to the constraints of avatars — particularly in facial expressions and movement — Uncanny Alley cleverly uses the medium’s strengths to its advantage. Our two live performers seamlessly “costume changed” by shifting into different avatars, allowing them to convincingly embody multiple characters with distinct voice work and physicality. Despite the usual VRChat-related hiccups, Ferryman Collective navigated the technical challenges with finesse, making for one of the most ambitious live VR performances of the festival.

Resolution: A Cinephonic Rhapsody for the Soul | The Polyphonic Spree

Resolution immediately stood out at the XR Expo floor, largely because they BYOD’d (brought their own dome). Created as an audiovisual companion piece to the Polyphonic Spree’s latest album, Salvage Enterprise, the experience combines music and visual storytelling to add another layer of engagement to the soundscape. At a time when single tracks often receive more attention than full albums, Resolution offered a refreshing reminder of how music can be experienced as a cohesive journey, especially when paired with cutting-edge technology.

Ancestors | The Smartphone Orchestra

The Smartphone Orchestra’s Ancestors takes an unconventional approach to live immersive storytelling, using participants’ smartphones as the primary medium. Instead of the usual “please put your phones away” directive found in most shows, users’ own phones are central to the experience. Ancestors encouraged participants to take selfies, which were then merged with another participant’s image to generate an AI-created “ancestor.” As the experience continued, these generated faces evolved into projected future generations, culminating in a distant descendant based on the entire group and strong themes of identity, community, and sustainability. Because the show’s directives came directly from participants’ own phones, devices they are inherently familiar with, there was a natural acceptance of the process that might not have been achieved had the same prompts been delivered via a central screen or external controller. Beyond the technological and philosophical implications, Ancestors also functioned as a surprisingly effective icebreaker, fostering connections between participants in an organic and interesting way.

Oto’s Planet | Gwenael François

Oto’s Planet, which won the Special Jury Prize at last year’s Venice Biennale, delivers an engaging narrative with a deeply satisfying conclusion. The VR piece follows the peaceful life of Oto and his pet Skippy, which is suddenly disrupted by the arrival of a visitor intent to claim their home as his own. Though some of the interactive elements felt slow and forced rather than integral to the storytelling, Oto’s Planet stood out as one of the more emotionally resonant XR pieces at the festival.

Sweet! | René van Engelenburg

One of the few non-VR installations in the XR Expo, Sweet! attempts to engage with artificial intelligence in an innovative way but ultimately struggles to find its footing. The experience consists of a social-issues minded AI bot housed within a candy shop, but the premise was confusing and not significantly more compelling than a standard chat with ChatGPT.

Secret Life of Monsters | Wallrus Creative Technologies

Mixed reality experience, Secret Life of Monsters engages the audience through both AR and VR gameplay. Throughout, we were challenged to unlock different portals to the world of SOLUM, an otherworldly parallel universe filled with strange creatures and hidden anomalies, and collect data by scanning its inhabitants. With its gamified structure, Secret Life of Monsters encourages exploration and interaction, rewarding those who successfully uncover all its secrets.

Proof As If Proof Were Needed | Blast Theory

Another standout non-VR experience, Proof As If Proof Were Needed, transformed a simple room into an interactive narrative. Upon entering, we found a room plan mapped out on the floor — a kitchen, bedroom, living room, and bathroom. As we physically moved between the sections of the floor plan, a central screen displayed video footage from the location we stood on, revealing the fragmented story of two characters returning to their abandoned home. The experience required participants to communicate and coordinate their movements to determine which parts of the narrative reveal themselves, which in turn changed the interpretation of the story. Audio cues, such as the clinking of plates or the sound of footsteps, created an additional layer of immersion and also helped track character movements between rooms. The experience won the SXSW Special Jury Award for XR Experience.

Branded Activations

Each year, a slew of brand activations pop up across Austin, often touting themselves as “immersive”, to varying degrees of success. While nothing has quite rivaled HBO’s SXSWestworld activation from SXSW 2018, this year brought a mix of high-traffic, photo-friendly experiences and some more conceptually intriguing efforts.

Paramount+ The Lodge

Returning to Clive Bar on Rainey Street for another year, Paramount+ The Lodge once again positioned itself as an immersive experience, though in practice, leaned heavily into branded selfie stations and themed lounge areas. A Happy Face mirror maze briefly raised my hopes for something more experiential, but considering it took a few seconds to navigate, the maze served more as set dressing than true activation. While Paramount+ The Lodge may not have been the most innovative activation, it capably fulfilled its intended role: a visually engaging, high-throughput experience designed for social media amplification.

Museum of the Future House

The UAE found a home at SXSW this year at the Museum of the Future House, named after the titular gallery in Dubai. The space featured Earth Dreams, an immersive AI installation by Refik Anadol, which quickly became one of the festival’s most photographed spots.

FX’s Alien: Earth

Touted as the must-see immersive activation at this year’s SXSW, Alien promised an intense, cinematic experience set within the world of the iconic sci-fi franchise. The experience moved participants through a series of four spaces, each featuring a different actor interaction. Despite the setup, the experience was more passive than anticipated. Actors seemed reluctant to engage beyond their scripted beats and a small puzzle by the end, while a welcome touch, felt like a brief detour rather than an integral part of the adventure.

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Interestingly, the experience felt scarier from the outside than from within. Thick fog, flashing lights, and the sound of distant screams built anticipation in the long queue, but once inside, the tension never quite reached the same level. While Alien delivered a more immersive experience than the many photo-op-heavy activations at SXSW, it ultimately felt like a lightweight interpretation of its source material.

SXSW Expo

The SXSW Expo is always an eclectic mix, showcasing everything from next-gen VR-enabled headphones to fanmade merch, to Korean skincare. With such a wide range of offerings, it can often feel like a strange smorgasbord, but a few standout booths managed to grab attention with their unique application of immersive storytelling.

Black Hole Experience | Age of Union

Having first encountered Black Hole Experience during Toronto Pride last year, I was curious to see how this “Season 2” iteration had evolved. Much of the core structure remains the same, but the updated visuals provide a notable improvement. The striking light-filled tunnel, representing the “entrance” of a black hole, was as photo-worthy as ever, while the new screen-based visuals in the main space felt sleeker and more visually interesting. For a portable pop-up experience, it’s definitely an ambitious space. However, despite its impressive aesthetics, the environmental preservation message at the heart of the experience remains unclear. In the previous version of Black Hole Experience, the final room served as an informative space about Age of Union’s conservation efforts, grounding the experience with real-world context. This section was removed in favor of a mirror-filled “infinity room”, which felt like a missed opportunity to reinforce the project’s intended themes.

The Dictator’s Laundromat | Human Rights Foundation

With its bold baby blue and Barbie-pink color palette, The Human Rights Foundation’s Dictator’s Laundromat instantly drew the eye, luring in curious passersby with its vibrant, Meow Wolf-esque aesthetic. At first glance, it appeared to be another Instagrammable installation, but upon closer inspection, the experience revealed itself to be a sharp and effective critique of kleptocracy. The seemingly playful laundromat set-up held deeper meaning — peering inside the washing machines revealed hidden information on the various ways illicit money is “laundered,” while scattered fake dollar bills contained additional insights on financial corruption. The installation’s simplicity was its strength, distilling complex themes into an easily digestible, visually engaging format. By leveraging the way modern audiences interact with visually striking spaces, Dictator’s Laundromat successfully transformed an attention-grabbing design into a powerful educational tool.

Unofficial Programming

When you gather a high concentration of creative minds in one city, immersive experiences are bound to emerge, whether they’re officially part of SXSW or not. Throughout the festival, several independent activations took advantage of the influx of attendees, offering unexpected, off-the-beaten-path experiences.

Mighty Coconut Un/Reality Dis-orientation

The team behind Walkabout Mini Golf invited festivalgoers to an offsite “dis-orientation” session. Set inside a former school, the space lent itself naturally to exploration, with hidden puzzles scattered throughout closets, lockers, and tucked-away corners. While the puzzles weren’t particularly challenging, they provided a playful and scrappy alternative to the more polished (but sometimes sterile) brand activations at SXSW.

Dreamachine

Though not officially listed as part of SXSW’s programming, Dreamachine was presented as part of the UK House’s creative trade mission during the festival. While previous incarnations of Dreamachine required complex physical installations, this updated version distills the experience’s hardware into a few simple spotlight-sized boxes. In groups of five, we were invited to close our eyes in front of the carefully calibrated flashing white lights, and witness as our brains interpreted the input into a kaleidoscopic colorful dreamscape. Afterward, a debriefing session encouraged us to sketch out what we had “seen,” highlighting how our minds create personal, yet wildly varied, visual experiences. Dreamachine was one of the most impactful and interesting experiences of my SXSW, and I’m very excited to see how their more portable setup will enable them to share this experience with a wider audience.

Privy Privy

Tucked away in East Austin, far from the festival’s main hub, Privy Privy created a cheeky, subversive, and deeply joyful immersive experience. Upon stepping inside, guests were greeted by disco lights, upbeat music, and a dancing ice cream cone. An ice cream vendor invited me towards a bathroom stall, where a gloryhole revealed… an ice cream cone. It’s a thinly veiled analogy, and one that the experience takes great glee in exploring. The vendor playfully encouraged indulgence, topping off my cone with whipped cream and sprinkles as they melted into an inevitable sticky mess. While absurd and delightfully cheeky, Privy Privy also carried a deeper subtext. Given the current political climate, its unapologetic queerness felt like an act of joyful defiance. A brief written introduction at the start provided context for those unfamiliar with its layered symbolism, but even without that framing, the experience radiated pure, unfiltered fun.

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: The Super Live

Though the creators of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: The Super Live hosted a panel discussion at SXSW, the show’s Austin tour stop was not officially part of the festival. Billed as a “2.5D” experience, the production combines live-action performance with vibrant on-screen visuals, creating an aesthetic that felt like a true extension of the beloved anime and manga series. Sparkles and energy bursts filled the stage each time a Sailor Scout activated her powers, while rose petals rained down whenever Tuxedo Mask made an appearance. The show leans fully into its campy nature, reveling in the exaggerated theatricality that made Sailor Moon a cultural phenomenon. More than just a performance, the night was a celebration of fandom. The show drew a devoted, costumed crowd which often erupted into cheers at especially nostalgic moments. This is no ABBA Voyage hologram show — there’s no trying to mimic reality or trick the audience into thinking the digital is physical. Instead, the “2.5D” technology in Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon: The Super Liverevels in its ability to capture the spirit and art style of manga and anime in a way that feels like a proper homage.

Looking Ahead

With a festival as vast and multithemed as SXSW, it’s no surprise that immersive manifests in many ways. Whether through the official SXSW XR programming, branded activations scattered across the city, or unofficial pop-ups that take advantage of the festival’s gravitational pull, immersive continues to be an essential part of SXSW’s identity.

Given that the Austin Convention Centre is facing imminent demolition, with reconstruction not expected to be completed until 2029, next year will bring significant structural changes to SXSW. The removal of the festival’s central hub may cause the tracks to be siloed. This will be further exacerbated by the removal of the Secondary Access program, which previously allowed Music, Film, and Interactive badgeholders to attend events outside their Primary track. However, the decision to move all programming into a concurrent single week, rather than staggered across a 10-day period, as well as the newly slashed Early Bird prices ($1,135 or $785 for 2026 Platinum and Interactive badges respectively vs $2,095 or $1,495 this past year), could also increase the likelihood of crossover and overall accessibility of the event.

This year, the XR track at SXSW granted Primary Access to all badgeholders. Will this policy continue in 2026, or will XR be designated to a single badge type — and if so, which will it be? SXSW’s XR projects are judged alongside Film & TV programming, but the space often features technologies and business practices heavily aligned with Interactive programming, and many pieces (like this year’s Resolution: A Cinephonic Rhapsody for the Soul and The Last Practice) are Music programming adjacent. In a SXSW where convergence programming may be deprioritized, how will XR, which exists at the crossroads of these spaces, appear?

Despite these impending shifts, one thing remains certain: SXSW continues to be a hub for creative experimentation. Whether officially programmed or independently staged, Immersive will find its way into the festival.