The VR Awards brought VR leaders to celebrate work from the past year.

2017 has been quite a year for VR. Though sales of VR headsets may not have lived up to certain market expectations, innovation and exploration in VR technology brought about new ways to create, communicate, and collaborate.

On October 9, VR Bound hosted its inaugural VR Awards, held at London’s 8 Northumberland Avenue.

It was an evening designed to showcase standout achievements over the last year and celebrate the passionate and dedicated teams of people who are focused on a single goal; to bring the very best in virtual reality and build a foundation for VR to grow for many years to come.

The red-carpet gala event was hosted by British comedian Lloyd Griffith, best known in the UK as the face of BBC3’s Taxi to Training, and has also appeared on Comedy Central’s Drunk History. 300 international VR delegates from companies such as AMD Studios, Foundry, Oculus, HTC, Sky, Channel 4, EDF Energy, Google, Jaunt VR, Framestore, Rewind, Ikea, Rebellion, Leapmotion, Deloitte, Epic Games, Barclays, Nokia, and Greenpeace were in attendance.

“The VR Awards is more than just a one night award ceremony,” VR Bound Co-Founder Daniel Colaianni said. “Instead it is a year-round effort with a passionate and driven team that is continuously finding new ways to reinvest and promote strategic partnerships.”

Jamie Amstel, who is also a co-founder of VR Bound and an organizer of the VR Awards, talked about what was it like having VR professionals from across the globe in one room.

“It’s often a rare situation where an international community in that very minute could just enjoy themselves no matter what company they came from, no matter how big or small they were in the industry,” Amstel said. “Everyone was there to celebrate the achievements of Virtual Reality whether they were a winner of not.”

As for where the VR Awards go from here? Both Colaiainni and Amstel agree that the VR Awards will continue to build on the foundations that have been laid in its inaugural year, by supporting the innovators, creatives, thinkers, disruptors, doers and dreamers who are exploring the future of VR, AR and MR, and bringing with it phenomenal growth for the VR industry.

With over 500 nominations received internationally, 78 finalists went before a jury of 40 VR expert judges judging in multiple categories under very specific criteria. Below are the 2017 winners:

VR Headset of the Year : Rift by Oculus

Rift by Oculus Mobile VR Headset of the Year: Daydream View by Google

Daydream View by Google VR Hardware of the Year : Touch by Oculus

Touch by Oculus VR Game of the Year: Raw Data by Survios

Raw Data by Survios Innovative VR Company of the Year: G’Audio Lab

G’Audio Lab VR Experience of the Year : Tilt Brush by Google

Tilt Brush by Google Most Creative use of Marketing in VR: IKEA VR by IKEA

IKEA VR by IKEA Interactive VR Media/Film of the Year: Allumette by Penrose Studios

Allumette by Penrose Studios VR Startup of the Year : LiveLike

LiveLike Best Use of VR in Education and Training : ITI Crane Simulator by Industrial Training International

ITI Crane Simulator by Industrial Training International Best use of VR in Healthcare : ImmersiCare by Tribemix

ImmersiCare by Tribemix Best out of home VR Entertainment: Ghostbusters: Dimension by The VOID

Image Credit: Dom Martin