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Where stories become experiences

Beyond pitching and panels, AltNext invites you to slow down, explore, and enjoy interactive storytelling in all its forms.

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Experience
Experience
Experience
Experience
Experience

Experience essentials

13-14 June 2026
Shanghai, China

Young woman wearing a virtual reality headset and holding controllers smiles while interacting with a man in a vibrant, softly lit environment - at AltNext Edition 1 in 2025.

Where interaction meets pleasure

This is the playful layer of AltNext. It’s about discovery rather than discourse, sensation rather than structure. From interactive films and experimental works to live performances and unexpected formats, this is where audiences engage freely. No expertise required, just curiosity.

Moments designed to be felt

Expect a curated mix of interactive screenings, immersive installations, live audiovisual sets, concerts, and hands-on experiences. Some works ask you to choose. Others ask you to feel. All of them invite you to participate and engage.

Woman using virtual reality headset and controller in a gaming booth with screens and Asian-themed graphics in the background - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
Crowd watching a live band perform at night in a street filled with illuminated Asian-style neon signs and lanterns - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).

Open to everyone

This is the most accessible entry point to AltNext. Whether you’re an industry professional, a creator, or simply someone who loves stories and culture, the space is designed to be welcoming, joyful, and shared.

The human side of the ecosystem

While the conference shapes ideas, the festival highlights creators, and the market enables exchange, this is where we reconnect with what storytelling is really about: enjoying stories together, being moved, and exploring new ways of connecting through interactive media.

Person wearing a white dress, white cardigan, and VR headset standing against a textured orange background - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).

First encounters

Discover interactive storytelling through choice, immersion, and shared curiosity.

Two digital display boards at ALTNEXT Interactive Experience Summit showing schedules for June 18 Wander Stage and Side Event with session times and topics.
Hand holding smartphone recording a video of people standing around a pool with a railing - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
Underwater drone partially submerged in clear blue water creating bubbles as it moves - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
People at a tech event, some holding smartphones and cameras, with 'ALTNEXT' logo in the corner - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
Person wearing VR goggles and sitting on a stationary bike indoors, with two other people nearby and a screen displaying a game in the background.
Person wearing VR headset interacting with an AR digital tiger display on a screen in a tech exhibition booth - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
Two people closely examining a professional camera rig with a large lens, with an orange life preserver in the background - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
Hand holding a smartphone capturing a photo of a camera setup on a green table with an interactive display in the background - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
Black underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV) with multiple thrusters and sensors inside a water testing tank - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
Video camera filming a person sitting against a green screen, with camera screens showing the person in a different indoor setting - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
Video camera recording two people in front of a green screen, visible on the camera's display screens - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
Group of people watching a screen displaying a scene with two uniformed individuals in front of a grid wall with Great Fish Interactive branding - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).

After hours

Evening screenings and spontaneous moments where conversations continue long after the lights go down.

Live band performing on an outdoor stage with a crowd watching in front of a building decorated with red lanterns and Chinese signage - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
Live band performing on an outdoor stage at night with colorful neon-lit buildings and a crowd watching - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
Singer holding a microphone and facing an enthusiastic crowd behind a barrier at a concert with blue lighting - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
Crowd enjoying a vibrant concert or event with purple and pink stage lights - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
Crowd watching a blue light show with beams and red abstract visuals at an indoor event - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
Crowd of people watching a live concert with vibrant green and blue stage lighting and beams - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
Crowd watching a live music performance with vibrant green and blue stage lights - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
People gathered at a concert or event with purple stage lights and spotlights overhead, and a screen displaying calligraphic text - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
Crowd at a concert or event under blue stage lights with a person holding a flag in front of the stage - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
Live music performance on stage with two musicians playing guitar and keyboard, colorful stage lights, and an enthusiastic audience behind barriers - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
People gathering in front of a stage with colorful lighting and large screens - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
Two musicians playing traditional string instruments, one using small mallets and the other plucking strings, performing on a dimly lit stage - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).

Unscripted moments

Surprise performances and pop-up experiences that break the program and reshape the flow of the day.

Event space with empty wooden chairs arranged around tables under a circular ceiling screen displaying a large smiling interactive green cartoon frog with its tongue out - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
Person wearing a mask holding a smartphone and taking a photo or video of a group of people in a brightly lit indoor setting - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
Group of people socializing at a modern bar with illuminated counters and teal seating in an indoor venue - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
Children and adults drawing with neon markers on a dark wall illuminated with colorful lights - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
Person photographing colorful neon butterfly painting on arm with smartphone under blacklight - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
Two young people sitting on the floor drawing colorful neon graffiti on black walls in a dimly lit room - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
Wall covered in vibrant neon graffiti art including various cartoonish faces, abstract shapes, hearts, and drips under blacklight - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
Group of young people gathered around a table with tech gadgets and a clear capsule machine at an event under blue lighting - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
A person stamping a red ink design of a dragon-like figure on an open notebook page - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
Colorful illustrated magnets with cartoon characters and Chinese text on a black magnetic board - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).

Participation, live

Audiences take part: they choose, react, and shape the experience together.

Several enamel pins with the phrase 'For the Future of Play' in playful blue and yellow lettering on a blue background - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
Four people wearing VR headsets and earphones standing on a textured orange floor under warm lighting - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
Two women wearing VR headsets at an indoor event with colorful lighting and large screens in the background - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
A person wearing a virtual reality headset and holding handles is being photographed or recorded on a smartphone by another person in a dark environment with neon lighting - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
Two people wearing VR headsets seated in futuristic, illuminated motion simulator pods at the ALTNEXT Interactive Experience Summit.
Four colorful character mascots, including a monkey, a boar, a black cat in a sailor outfit, and a girl with black hair and ribbons, performing indoors with audience members taking photos - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
Person in a large cartoon-style costume with big eyes and colorful outfit posing with arms open, next to a woman taking a photo with a smartphone indoors - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
Smiling woman wearing glasses and bracelets high-fiving a person in a pink mascot costume at a nighttime event - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
Crowd wearing glowing headphones at a dark indoor event with a colorful animated projection on the wall - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
Group of people wearing glowing headphones in a dark room with a colorful cartoon character projected on the wall - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).
Three people wearing virtual reality headsets engaging in an immersive experience at the ALTNext Interactive Experience Summit.
Person wearing a virtual reality headset interacting in a crowded, neon-lit event space - at AltNext Season 1 (2025).

Be part of the experience

Access to the experience will open alongside the next season of AltNext. Register your interest to receive updates about passes, programming, and when participation opens.

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