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interactive movie theater called the Bijou
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2025 Burning Man Temple
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3d model of Burning Man
Inspiration
BurnerSphere was inspired by a desire to preserve and share the story of Burning Man’s community year-round. We built an immersive, multiplayer documentary platform that lets people explore Black Rock City from anywhere. Along the way we learned how to blend XR tech with real human stories, overcoming challenges in performance, scale, and capturing the essence of the playa in a persistent digital world.
What it does
BurnerSphere turns Burning Man into a living, explorable VR documentary. It lets users enter immersive 3D worlds, watch story-driven moments captured on playa, and connect with others in a multiplayer social environment. Participants can explore, learn, and interact year-round—experiencing the culture and communities of Black Rock City from anywhere.
How we built it
We built BurnerSphere in Unity with a Firebase backend, creating the platform from the ground up. We filmed documentary footage on playa, scanned art, and designed a custom UI rooted in Burner culture. It’s a rolling documentary with new footage added since 2022 and digital assets reaching back to Burning Man’s origins in 1986—all integrated into immersive 3D worlds with multiplayer interaction.
Challenges we ran into
Our biggest challenges were optimizing performance for large multiplayer spaces, integrating high-resolution documentary footage into interactive 3D environments, and preserving the authenticity of Burning Man’s culture in a digital space. We also navigated UX accessibility, network stability, and creating a seamless experience for both VR veterans and first-time users.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We built a first-of-its-kind immersive documentary platform for Burning Man, blending 3D worlds, 360° footage, and multiplayer social VR. We created seamless onboarding for new users, optimized large-scale environments, and captured authentic community stories. We’re proud to offer a year-round virtual Black Rock City that’s engaging, accessible, and culturally true.
What we learned
We learned how to merge documentary storytelling with interactive XR in ways that feel real and emotionally resonant. We discovered new methods for optimizing large multiplayer spaces, improving accessibility, and designing for users with all levels of VR experience. Most importantly, we learned how vital community, authenticity, and user feedback are in shaping a meaningful virtual world.
What's next for BurnerSphere
Next, we’re expanding BurnerSphere with new immersive worlds, deeper documentary chapters, and richer social features. We’re adding an accessibility-focused UI, favoriting worlds, and the ability to gift digital assets. We’re also onboarding global Burner communities, optimizing for more devices, and opening the platform to museums, festivals, and creators.
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