Save the dates: Oct.15-18, 2026

ReMix the Future 2026

Prototyping immersive futures through technology, play, and human connection

ReMix the Future immersive design jam is back for 2026!

Arizona State University is proud to present ReMix the Future, a premiere four-day creative design challenge hosted at the Media and Immersive Experience (MIX) Center, ASU’s state-of-the-art facility in Mesa, Arizona, for film, media arts, design and emerging technology programs.

We invite local and global artists, designers, and technologists to act as ReMixers to disrupt traditional production workflows and prototype speculative futures at the MIX Center from October 15 – 18. ReMixers will innovate across three signature tracks—Immersive Experience, Interactive Installation, and XR Design—to address our 2026 theme: Play Attention!

This year, ReMixers will build gamified experiences and interactive environments that explore the vital intersections of perception, participation, and human wellbeing. Elevate your craft through exclusive networking events, hands-on workshops, and track-specific resources designed to push the boundaries of what's possible.

Experience ReMix the Future

This year, ReMixers will build gamified, playful experiences and interactive environments responding to our 2026 area of focus, revealed live at our opening ceremony.

Elevate your craft through exclusive networking events, hands-on workshops and track-specific resources designed to push the boundaries of what's possible.

Choose your ReMix path

Apply to Remix

ReMix the future invites students, community members, artists and technologists from around the world to apply beginning July 15 to become an official 2026 ReMixer. As a ReMixer, you’ll join a collaborative challenge team at the MIX Center to remix production workflows and tackle our 2026 theme: Play Attention!

ReMixers ages 18+ are invited to apply for our signature tracks: Immersive Experience design in the Enhanced Immersion Studio, or Interactive Installation in Sound Stage 3.

Mesa Public Schools high school students can enroll in our Extended Reality (XR) design track, hosted by Dreamscape Learn. Selected participants gain exclusive access to our world-class studios, expert technical mentorship, and industry networking.

Save the date!

Applications open July 15.

To foster new connections and strengthen the creative community, all participants will apply individually. You will be matched with a team of fellow designers and developers over the weekend to collaborate, innovate and compete for grand prizes.

3 tracks

Choose a signature design track - Immersive Experience, Interactive Installation or Extended Reality - to remix workflows for creative change.

4 days

ReMix assets, tools and workflows to design your response to our 2026 theme: Play Attention! with our challenge revealed live in October.

Prizes

Signature tracks compete for awards and microcredentials and team podium recognition from an industry jury.

Explore our signature design tracks

ReMix the Future invites visionaries to the world-class Media and Immersive eXperience (MIX) Center to push the boundaries of storytelling, technology and design in one of our three signature tracks.

Immersive Experience

Hosted in the Enhanced Immersion Studio (EIS), the Immersive Experience design track explores the intersection of artificial intelligence and spatial design.

The EIS is ASU’s experimental media performance venue equipped with cutting-edge projection, lighting and a 55-channel spatial audio system. ReMix tools like Pixera and AI-powered workflows to craft dynamic, immersive audio-visual playable environments that captivate and engage.

Must be 18+ years old to apply.

Explore the EIS

Interactive Installation

Bring data to generative life in the Interactive Installation design track, remixing data through tools like TouchDesigner and real-time engines.

Our Interactive Installation track is hosted exclusively at the MIX’s Virtual Production Volume, our professional LED stage equipped with advanced camera systems, tracking and more.

Must be 18+ years old to apply.

Explore the Volume

A person wearing a VR headset and headphones operates joysticks at a table. A glowing holographic interface displays "BLOOD TEST RESULTS" with specific metrics and "YES" and "NO" buttons. The background is a dark, glowing forest environment with fantastical flora and ancient artifacts, lit in neon blue and green.

Extended Reality (HS)

Our Extended Reality design track invites Mesa High School students to build playable levels in Unity Game Engine.

Work in teams to remix workflows and assets developed by XR experts at Dreamscape Learn in an immersive two-day design field trip at the MIX Center.

Explore Dreamscape Learn

Interested Mesa High school students should have their instructors contact Megan Cauthen, Student Support Coordinator, for next steps.

Sponsor ReMix

Support the next generation of creators by partnering with ReMix the Future 2026 as a title sponsor, workshop host or technical supporter.

Your partnership provides vital resources for accessible participation and grants your organization direct access to top-tier talent and world-class facilities at the MIX Center.

View sponsor opportunities

Host a Workshop

Showcase your creative research, tools or products through a Wildcard Workshop, hosted at the MIX Center.

We invite ASU faculty and industry partners to host a Wildcard Workshop for the ASU community and share their expertise through special topic sessions that utilize our emerging media labs and engage the next generation of creative leaders.

Request to host

Design for Remix

Two women collaborate at a cluttered table in a bustling computer lab. One woman with long dark hair types on a laptop, while her colleague, wearing a grey beanie and glasses, smiles as they both look at the screen. The background shows several other people working or gaming at computer stations in a bright, modern workspace.

Enroll in HDA 580

Optimize tools, serve as a mentor, earn college credit!

ASU students are invited to enroll in HDA 580: ReMix Design Practicum and take on a creative leadership role in ReMix the Future 2026. This 3-credit creative research lab invites ASU students to develop and optimize "remixable" project templates, 3D asset libraries, and immersive frameworks in TouchDesigner, Pixera and Unity for ReMix the Future, serving as technical leaders and mentors during the live event from.

Enroll by Aug. 26

Challenge timeline

Application window

May 1 - Aug. 26 | Enroll as a designer

Enroll in HDA 580 to build the immersive frameworks and 3D assets that power ReMix the Future 2026 while serving as a lead designer and mentor during the live event.

July 15 - Sept. 30 | Apply as a ReMixer

Apply starting July 15 to become a 2026 ReMixer, where you’ll join a collaborative team at the MIX Center to master world-class studios and compete for grand prizes under this year’s theme: Play Attention!

July 15 - Sept. 30 | Apply as a Jury

Apply to join the ReMix the Future jury panel to evaluate groundbreaking projects, gain VIP access to the showcase, and connect with top-tier talent as an official 2026 judge.

Thursday, Aug. 20 | HDA 580 course start

ASU students enrolled in HDA 580 to design for ReMix will meet with MIX faculty and ASU stakeholders to begin developing, designing and optimizing workflows using tools like TouchDesigner, Pixera and Unity Game Engine.

Friday, Oct. 1 | Teams and Jury notified

Keep an eye on your inbox! All applicants will receive their official status notification via email with advancing individuals receiving next steps to prepare for the 2026 challenge in Mesa.

Live event: Oct. 15 - 18, 2026

Thursday, Oct. 15 | Opening ceremony & workshops

Kick off the weekend at the MIX Center with our opening ceremony, followed by track-specific workshops led by industry experts and ASU faculty where you'll meet your teammates and get oriented with the studio tech.

Friday, Oct. 16 - Saturday, Oct. 17 | Studio & workshops

Immersive Experience and Interactive Installation track teams enjoy all-day studio sessions supported by mentors and MIX staff. Take breaks throughout and explore beyond your tracks by experiencing a wildcard workshop, creative special topic sessions curated by ASU faculty and industry guests.

High schoolers in our XR Design track will be evaluated on Friday, Oct. 16.

Sunday, Oct. 18, Afternoon | Evaluations

Immersive Experience and Interactive Installation teams will install their work for evaluation by a track-specific jury of industry, higher education, and community experts representing the core themes of ReMix the Future.

Sunday, Oct. 18, Evening | Public Expo and Closing Ceremony

We invite the public to experience and explore the final projects at our massive showcase! Join us at the MIX Center to celebrate the creative achievements of our ReMixers and stay for the closing ceremony as we announce this year's grand prize winners.

ASU Partners

MIX Center Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts Enterprise Technology Dreamscape Learn The GAME School

About the MIX Center

Remix the Future is hosted at the Media and Immersive eXperience (MIX) Center in Mesa, Arizona, and is the premiere destination in the Southwest for film, media arts, design and emerging technology programs.

Opened in fall 2022, the MIX Center is part of the ASU Mesa Center for Creative Technology, a collaboration between ASU and Mesa, Arizona, a city rich in history, art, community and industry. The MIX Center is located in the Salt River Valley on the ancestral homelands of those American Indian tribes that have inhabited this place for centuries, including the Akimel O’odham (Pima) and Pee Posh (Maricopa) peoples, whose care and keeping of these lands allows us to be here today.

Learn more

Explore ReMix the Future 2025

More than 200 students, community members, creative practitioners and industry guests from around the U.S., including more than 60 high school students from Mesa, Arizona, converged at the ASU Mesa Center for Creative Technology to collaborate in Tech for Change: ReMix the Future, a four-day civic innovation sprint focused on spatial storytelling for public impact.

Read story