The WebXR API opens the door to a new breed of cross-reality games

Last May I pointed to WebVR games as one of the VR industry’s biggest potential sweet spots for generating widespread traction because the combination of VR, games, and the open web represents a giant industry intersection. The web is unparalleled in its capacity to get VR games in front of end users, and get them playing, since it bypasses so much of the friction that otherwise serves as one of the chief headaches for the industry: distribution.

There’s also WebVR’s forthcoming seismic upgrade to the WebXR API, which will soon allow developers to create mixed reality content that is responsive across the full spectrum of immersive computing devices. That is, VR and AR under one umbrella. The implications this opens up are profound insofar as it expands the potential reach for any single piece of content that developers ship, and in the context of games it means that any player with virtually any gadget or gear will now be able to play, wherever they are and on their own terms.