Los Angeles, CA: The Proto Awards announced today that their next ceremony will take place in 2018, skipping the 2017 season in order to assess the changing landscape of immersive technology and entertainment; returning in a year’s time with an event showcasing the best in virtual and augmented reality. The Protos are immersive technology’s first award show, and hosted their premiere event in 2014, hosted by Thomas Middleditch, then fresh off the first season of Silicon Valley.

“We started the Protos to shine a light on a handful of passion projects. Most of them were working in their off time between day jobs,” said Adam Levin, Executive Producer of The Protos. “We’ve seen those early winners find huge success in the years since, and we look forward to finding the next class of pioneers in 2018, as well as recognizing the continued innovation and artistry of our previous winners.&rdqou;

The event’s founders have an eye on a 2018 celebration to coincide with the release of new hardware at consumer-friendly prices, and the continuing evolution of immersive technology.

The Proto Awards were the first to recognize some of the industry’s breakout experiences from Tilt Brush, Survios, Kite & Lightning, Cloudhead Games, Felix & Paul Studios, Schell Games, WEVR, Steel Crate Games, Google, AltSpaceVR, I-Illusions, Logan Olson, E McNeill, Northway Games, Cirque du Soleil, Radical Games and many more. Oftentimes recognition from the Protos helped nascent developers and studios show legitimacy in a medium still in its infancy.

Each year’s gala has been hosted by comedians with special connections to the tech industry, with the two most recent ceremonies hosted by Ron Funches and Jonah Ray. The first Proto Awards were given at the Roosevelt Hotel’s historic Blossom Ballroom, where the first Academy Awards took place in 1929.