Draft:Metaverse browser
 | Review waiting, please be patient.
This may take 5 weeks or more, since drafts are reviewed in no specific order. There are 2,585 pending submissions waiting for review.
Where to get help
How to improve a draft
You can also browse Wikipedia:Featured articles and Wikipedia:Good articles to find examples of Wikipedia's best writing on topics similar to your proposed article. Improving your odds of a speedy review To improve your odds of a faster review, tag your draft with relevant WikiProject tags using the button below. This will let reviewers know a new draft has been submitted in their area of interest. For instance, if you wrote about a female astronomer, you would want to add the Biography, Astronomy, and Women scientists tags. Editor resources
Reviewer tools
|
Comment: In preparing this draft, I disclose that AI assistance was used as follows: I wrote the article text myself. I used an AI assistant (Claude, in Cursor) to check claims against the cited sources, suggest alternative wording for some sentences, format citations and tables in wikitext, and do a final copyedit for neutral tone and Wikipedia style. I reviewed every change and verified each source myself. The earlier declined version relied more heavily on AI-generated text. This version was rewritten in my own words. SpatialShaman (talk) 19:38, 2 October 2026 (UTC)
Submission declined on 12 September 2026 by Fermiboson (talk).
Where to get help
How to improve a draft
You can also browse Wikipedia:Featured articles and Wikipedia:Good articles to find examples of Wikipedia's best writing on topics similar to your proposed article. Improving your odds of a speedy review To improve your odds of a faster review, tag your draft with relevant WikiProject tags using the button below. This will let reviewers know a new draft has been submitted in their area of interest. For instance, if you wrote about a female astronomer, you would want to add the Biography, Astronomy, and Women scientists tags. Editor resources
This draft has been resubmitted and is currently awaiting re-review. |  |
- Comment: In accordance with the Wikimedia Foundation's Terms of Use, I disclose that I have been paid by my employer for my contributions to this article. SpatialShaman (talk) 23:40, 11 September 2026 (UTC)
A metaverse browser is a software application for browsing 3D spatial content and services on devices such as smartphones, AR glasses, VR headsets, and computers. Similar to how a web browser accesses and renders flat 2D web pages from the World Wide Web,[1] a metaverse browser is designed for spatial computing, accessing augmented or virtual reality content. The metaverse browser accesses spatial services and scenes based on proximity without installing separate apps.[2]
A metaverse browser retrieves content (such as glTF 3D models and WebAssembly code) and real-time service streams from multiple independent providers, and combines them into an interactive three-dimensional scene graph on the user's device.[3][4]
In March 2026, the Metaverse Standards Forum and Metaversal Corporation, which does business as RP1, launched the Open Metaverse Browser Initiative (OMBI) to develop an open-source metaverse browser engine and build the foundation for accessing spatial services.[2] RP1 contributed its prototype browser to seed the project and is the engine's lead architect.[2][3]
The OMBI's open-source metaverse browser engine, Sneeze, was released in June 2026 at the Augmented World Expo under the Apache 2.0 license.[3][5] Sneeze can be embedded in existing web browsers or used to power standalone metaverse browsers.[3] In July 2026, RP1 released Artemis, a native metaverse browser built on Sneeze, as an early-access version.[4][6]
Concept and relationship to web browsers
[edit]A metaverse browser extends the idea of web browsing from 2D pages to 3D spaces.[2]
A web browser lets people visit any website without installing a separate application for each one. Metaverse browsers apply the same idea to spatial content and services in both real-world locations and virtual worlds, as described by the Metaverse Standards Forum.[2] Both web browsers and metaverse browsers render content built using open standards on demand from remote servers, but they are built differently and use different browser engines.[3]
| Property | Web browser | Metaverse browser |
|---|---|---|
| Primary content model | Document Object Model (DOM): a tree of elements in a 2D page | Scene Object Model (SOM): a tree of spatial objects in 3D space |
| Content formats | HTML, CSS, JavaScript, images, video | Spatial fabric files, WebAssembly, glTF, spatial audio |
| Connection model | Request and response over HTTP | Persistent real-time connections to several independent services |
| Standards organizations involved | W3C, WHATWG | Khronos Group, OGC, W3C |
Responsibilities of the metaverse browser engine
[edit]The metaverse browser engine is designed to take spatial content from several services, often run by different organizations, and combine it into one scene.[3][4] In Sneeze, rendering is passed to a separate renderer through the Khronos ANARI interface, and input from headsets, controllers, and hand tracking is read through OpenXR.[8] The engine maintains live connections to each service.[2] Code supplied by a service runs as WebAssembly in its own sandbox, so one service cannot interfere with or read data from another service or the browser.[9]
History
[edit]Conceptual origins
[edit]The idea of a persistent, shared 3D space has appeared in science fiction since at least Neal Stephenson's 1992 novel Snow Crash, which also gave the metaverse its name.[10] In the novel, a standards group sets the protocols for the Metaverse,[11] and people enter it from devices ranging from high-end personal systems to cheap public terminals.[12]
GamesBeat has described the metaverse browser as a way to reach interconnected virtual worlds "like in novels such as Snow Crash and Ready Player One."[1]
RP1 prototype
[edit]At the Augmented World Expo in June 2025, RP1 revealed what it called the world's first metaverse browser.[13][1] CEO Sean Mann told GamesBeat that the company's servers could hold about 100,000 concurrent users in a single shared space without sharding.[1] RP1 had first demonstrated the server technology publicly in 2023.[14]
Epic v. Google app category
[edit]In March 2026, a revised settlement term sheet in the Epic v. Google antitrust case created a new app category called "metaverse browsers". The visible text defined them as apps whose primary purpose is "the navigation and exploration of metaverse worlds" and which support virtual items and identity that are portable across worlds; much of the definition was redacted.[15]
Open Metaverse Browser Initiative
[edit]In March 2026, the Metaverse Standards Forum and RP1 launched the Open Metaverse Browser Initiative (OMBI), an open-source project to build the foundation for accessing spatial services. RP1 contributed its prototype browser to seed the project, which the Forum described as a testbed for validating interoperability standards.[2]
In June 2026, the OMBI released Sneeze, a metaverse browser engine, as open-source software under the Apache 2.0 license, hosted on the Metaverse Standards Forum's GitHub repository, and presented it at AWE USA 2026.[3][5] RP1 is the engine's lead architect and maintainer.[3][5]
At the same time, the University of Rochester's Center for Extended Reality launched the Open Metaverse Academic Alliance (OMAA), a group of universities working on research and standards connected to the OMBI.[16][3]
Artemis native launch
[edit]In July 2026, RP1 released Artemis, a native standalone browser application built on the Sneeze engine, as an early-access release for developers and enterprises.[4][6] At launch, users could navigate to spatial fabrics by URL without installing separate apps and load content from several independent operators into one scene; other features, including embedded services, were still in development.[6]
Standards and protocols
[edit]Sneeze is built on several existing open standards.[8][4]
| Standard | Organization | Role in the metaverse browser |
|---|---|---|
| glTF | Khronos Group | 3D model and scene delivery (geometry, materials, textures, animations) |
| OpenXR | Khronos Group | XR device access (headset tracking, input, rendering submission) |
| ANARI | Khronos Group | Rendering abstraction (a scene-description interface that hands rendering to a separate engine) |
| WebAssembly | W3C | Sandboxed execution of third-party service code |
| SPIR-V | Khronos Group | Portable binary format for GPU shaders and compute kernels |
The Metaverse Standards Forum has said the initiative will build on existing web standards while developing new protocols and interfaces where needed.[2]
Industry reception
[edit]Sneeze's launch at AWE 2026 drew coverage from technology and XR publications. In an interview-based article, Dean Takahashi of GamesBeat wrote that if the initiative succeeds, people "may need to get ready for a world without app stores."[3] Writing in Forbes, analyst Tim Bajarin included Sneeze in his recap of the show and compared it to "Blink and WebKit reimagined for spatial computing."[17] Nina Castillo of VR.org called it "the most encouraging announcement of AWE" for those who want the spatial web to work like the open web, while cautioning that its success would depend on whether developers and platforms adopt it.[18]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 Takahashi, Dean (September 15, 2025). "RP1 says that metaverse needs its own browser". GamesBeat. VentureBeat. Retrieved October 1, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Metaverse Standards Forum and RP1 Create the Open Metaverse Browser Initiative". Metaverse Standards Forum. March 11, 2026. Retrieved October 1, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Takahashi, Dean (June 15, 2026). "Metaverse Standards Forum introduces Sneeze, the 1st open metaverse browser engine". GamesBeat. Retrieved October 1, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "RP1 Launches Artemis, the World's First Native Metaverse Browser" (Press release). Business Wire. July 6, 2026. Retrieved October 1, 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Metaverse Standards Forum Introduces Sneeze, the World's First Open Metaverse Browser Engine" (Press release). Metaverse Standards Forum. June 15, 2026. Retrieved October 1, 2026.
- 1 2 3 "RP1 Launches Artemis Metaverse Browser for Spatial Experiences". Auganix. July 9, 2026. Retrieved October 1, 2026.
- ↑ "Core Concepts". Open Metaverse Browser Wiki. Open Metaverse Browser Initiative. Retrieved October 2, 2026.
- 1 2 "The Standards Sneeze Builds On". Open Metaverse Browser Wiki. Open Metaverse Browser Initiative. Retrieved October 2, 2026.
- ↑ "Trust & Isolation". Open Metaverse Browser Wiki. Open Metaverse Browser Initiative. Retrieved October 2, 2026.
- ↑ Levy, Steven (September 16, 2022). "Neal Stephenson Named the Metaverse. Now, He's Building It". Wired. Retrieved October 1, 2026.
- ↑ Stephenson, Neal (2003) [1992]. Snow Crash. New York: Bantam Books. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-553-89819-4.
- ↑ Stephenson, Neal (2003) [1992]. Snow Crash. New York: Bantam Books. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-553-89819-4.
- ↑ "RP1 Launches the World's First Metaverse Browser" (Press release). Business Wire. June 9, 2025. Retrieved October 1, 2026.
- ↑ "RP1 Shatters Metaverse Limits: Showcases Technology Platform Capable of Scaling to Billions of People" (Press release). Business Wire. June 14, 2023. Retrieved October 1, 2026.
- ↑ Peters, Jay (March 4, 2026). "Epic and Google have signed a special deal for a new class of 'metaverse' apps". The Verge. Retrieved October 2, 2026.
- ↑ "Open Metaverse Academic Alliance (OMAA)". University of Rochester. Retrieved October 1, 2026.
- ↑ Bajarin, Tim (June 18, 2026). "At AWE 2026, Spatial Computing Grows Up And AI Is Now The Story". Forbes. Retrieved October 2, 2026.
- ↑ Castillo, Nina (June 17, 2026). "The Metaverse Just Got Its First Open-Source Browser Engine. Here Is Why That Matters". VR.org. Retrieved October 2, 2026.
Please delete the portions which were LLM-generated, and summarize in your own words a range of independent, reliable, published sources that discuss the subject. If you have used an LLM but you believe that your use is covered by one of the two exceptions (basic copyediting and translation between two languages in which you are fully fluent), please provide a transcript of the prompt(s) you used while writing your draft (see the how-to guide). Reviewers can make mistakes. If you have not received any LLM assistance, you may seek a second opinion at the AfC Help Desk.
See the advice page on large language models for more information.