Speakers at AWE 2025: Oculus Founder, Meta’s Metaverse Experiences VP, and ILM Immersive VP

AWE USA 2025 promises to be a remarkable gathering, showcasing some of the most influential voices in the XR industry. Among the lineup are industry giants like Palmer Luckey, the original creator of Oculus and the force behind Anduril, and Jason Rubin, a key executive at Meta currently serving as Vice President of Metaverse Experiences. Also sharing the stage will be Vicki Dobbs Beck, Vice President of ILM Immersive, who has been instrumental in crafting XR adaptations of major franchises like Star Wars and Marvel.

Recognized as one of the leading and longest-standing XR-focused events globally, AWE USA is an essential stop on the XR calendar. This year, the conference is set to take place from June 10th to 12th in Long Beach, California. It aims to be bigger and better than ever, with expectations of drawing over 6,000 attendees, hosting 300 exhibitors, featuring 400 speakers, and setting up a sizable expo floor of 150,000 square feet. There’s still time to snag early-bird tickets, and a special 20% discount is available for Road to VR followers.

Speakers at the event, numbering over 400, represent a broad spectrum of companies in the XR space, including notable figures like Palmer Luckey, Jason Rubin, and Vicki Dobbs Beck.

Palmer Luckey, the visionary behind Oculus, spurred the XR ambitions of Meta with the launch of the Oculus Rift CV1. His departure from Meta, amid the political uproar related to the 2016 US elections, was a poignant moment. However, fences have been mended with Meta, with a preview invitation to their latest AR headset (Project Orion), coupled with a sincere apology from Meta’s head of XR, Andrew ‘Boz’ Bosworth, acknowledging Luckey’s profound impact on the industry.

After his exit from Meta, Luckey established Anduril, a military technology firm now valued at approximately $18 billion. Interestingly, Anduril has ventured back into the XR world by leading the military AR headset project initially spearheaded by Microsoft. At AWE, we can expect Luckey to delve into this project’s implications for the use of XR in military applications.

Joining him is Jason Rubin, one of the last-standing executives from Oculus at Meta. Since joining in 2014, Rubin has played a strategic role in shaping Meta’s content and partnership initiatives, with particular focus on gaming. He’s expected to discuss Meta’s shifting vision for the metaverse during his presentation.

Additionally, we’ll hear from Vicki Dobbs Beck of ILM Immersive, aligned with the creative powerhouse Lucasfilm. As a co-founder of the interactive division, Dobbs Beck has been pivotal in transforming significant IPs into immersive experiences, including notable ventures like the Vader Immortal series and Marvel’s What If…? – An Immersive Experience. Her talk is anticipated to shed light on the future direction of ILM Immersive and how they plan to evolve story-driven XR experiences amidst the proliferation of standalone headsets.

Road to VR is thrilled to serve as the Premier Media Partner for AWE USA 2025, giving us the opportunity to offer our readers a 20% discount to this highly anticipated event.