The Metaverse versus The Immersive Web

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Bold Prediction

Much like the mobile versus web spectrum, VR/XR is having a similar problem. On one side there are "native apps". These are written to be deployed on the device, often belaboured by app store policies and confusion, and are not generally "runnable" without installing them. On the other end are the "mobile web apps". These just use html/js and can be run from a browser on device...in modern days, with things like PWA, they are often indistinquishable from "native apps" and have the added benefit of running without going through an "app store".

In the VR/XR world, we face a similar problem...Oculus, being the first platform with any degree of consumer success, has a ton of mind share around "native apps", however, there is a web standard (WebXR) that has been creeping into browsers everywhere called WebXR which is enabling the ability to run "native-like" immersive experience.

This is significant because currently, most of the focus is on building "Metaverses", or, as far as I can tell...basically "not really great replications of real life using native apps". The alternative, however, is something called "The Immersive Web", which is using the internet and WebXR technology to extend VR/XR experiences into the internet (or visa versa depending on your point of view).

I believe the "immersive web" has jumped past what most folks are focusing on (i.e. Metaverse) and is going to overtake mindshare over the next year or so. To this end, there are a number of frameworks to simplify working with VR in the browser, but there's a clear winner from a developer productivity perspective.

This winner is A-Frame.

While the site may not be much to look at the ease and simplicity it enables to build 3d experiences that run in the oculus browser and accessible in the device is unrivaled. While bablylonjs and other tools seem focused on nuts and bolts of 3d devlopment (like threejs), A-Frame is focused on enabling devlopers to quickly use existing tools and knowledge to rapidly deploy and easily maintain VR experiences that live on the web.

It may appear from looking at the site that it is not maintained, but I can assure you it is actively maintained (hitting 1.4 a month ago and having 1.4.1 quickly released thereafter) and has a deep and rich history as well as a number of applications released in the wild (including a beat saber replica). If you're a web developer and wanting to get into VR and immersive experiences and be able to build upon knowledge you already have, you really should check it out.

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