Supermedium, the team behind the native virtual reality browser that lets you interact with web-based VR content, says its namesake project is no longer in active development, and that it’s effectively been put “on ice” in search of something that consumers might use in VR on a daily basis.

According to an interview with German VR publication MIXED (German), the company says it’s “not actively working on Supermedium itself right now and exploring other projects.”

“We’ll try to continue to take our approach and design in directions into projects that we think people will want to use more,” a company spokesperson told MIXED. 

When asked whether the free VR web browser would receive any more updates, Supermedium’s creators say it probably won’t “in the incarnation of WebVR browser.”

“It’s on ice as it sorta works and is still up, but I think we’ll be trying to solve how to make something that people would want to use VR everyday for and solve a problem,” the spokesperson concluded.

SEE ALSO
Microsoft 'DreamWalker' Experiment Takes First Steps into Always-on World-scale VR

The company, also known as Super XYZ, is the very same behind VR web framework ‘A-Frame’ and was also a part of the original Mozilla team behind the WebVR initiative.

In July 2018, the company raised a seed investment round of $1.1 million, with funding coming from Y Combinator, General Catalyst, Boost VC, Anorak Ventures, Candela Partners, Social Starts, M Ventures, Seraph Group, Taimatsu, Outpost VC, Colopl Next, Shrug VC, Andrew Ogawa, and Cantos VC.

Supermedium is available on a range of PC VR headsets, including Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Valve Index, and Windows VR headsets. You’ll find it on Steam and the Oculus Store.


A special thanks goes out to MIXED for providing Road to VR with direct quotes in English.

Newsletter graphic

This article may contain affiliate links. If you click an affiliate link and buy a product we may receive a small commission which helps support the publication. More information.


Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 3,500 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • Mateusz Pawluczuk

    Too bad. Curated WebVR content makes sense and Supermedium team seemed to know what’s good.

  • Larry

    Is anyone surprised? The VR population hasn’t grown and Quest hasn’t made a dent with less than 1m units solds.

    Developers are moving on to other things unless subsidized by investor cash or publisher deals. 2020 is going to be a rough year for VR enthusiasts as the investor cash runs out. Sony is probably the only hope for continued investment. Facebook still talks a big game but I noticed there was no hardware announcement at OC6.

  • A great product, it’s a sad news. But actually, I had various doubts about its profitability…

  • Ardra Diva

    Google just announced an update for Chrome that will support web-based VR.

  • Brian Elliott Tate

    This is really sad news. The Beatsaver Viewer and Moon Rider has been dearly loved by many. I hope they continue their fantastic work in another useful way.

  • sara laurence

    That’s a really sad news to hear as a senior developer at PHP web development services I really regret of doing this and hopefully this matter will resolved as soon as possible.