Mozilla will discontinue Firefox Reality, a virtual and augmented reality web browser, and pass the baton to an external team that will restart it under a new name. Igalia, a free software consultancy, is developing a browser using the underlying source code of Firefox Reality and aims to release an equivalent VR / AR browser called Wolvic next week. Meanwhile, Mozilla will remove Firefox Reality from the app store in the coming weeks.
Igalia has previously contributed to the WebKit and Chromium open-source projects and seems to be the perfect fit to carry this project forward.
Firefox Reality is now available on the Meta Quest (formerly Oculus Quest) headset, HTC’s Viveport platform, the standalone VR headset Pico and Microsoft’s mixed reality headset HoloLens. Not only does it allow users to browse traditional websites on their headsets, but it’s also a portal to a full-fledged web-based VR and AR experience. It’s a platform that’s often overlooked when compared to native headset apps, but it’s a more open alternative to a hand-picked app store.
As antitrust authorities scrutinize Meta’s VR ambitions and companies across the tech industry invest in AR, Wolvic has the potential to enhance the viability of web-based mixed reality.
