Spatial Realities E125 - Will AR glasses kickstart the metaverse? Sean Mann about the Open Metaverse Browser Initiative
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Thomas Riedel
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Thomas Bedenk
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Sean Mann
Just one day after RP1 and the Metaverse Standards Forum (MSF) announced the Open Metaverse Browser Initiative, Meta announced the discontinuation of the VR version of Meta Horizon Worlds. What might look like bad timing from a PR perspective actually confirmed that these two partners were on the right track. RP1 and MSF are leading an initiative to develop a browser tailored for the upcoming wave of Augmented Reality glasses.
A new narrative has emerged: a metaverse driven primarily by AR glasses.
For years, Meta dominated the XR industry with an aggressive strategy to own XR and build a proprietary ecosystem, primarily in Mixed Reality and for the Metaverse. However, it wasn’t just industry partners who resisted; there was also little consumer traction beyond some minor, linear growth. In 2025, Meta tried to push Horizon Worlds into the market, a move that not only puzzled but even antagonized game developers. For the press the latest actions by Meta confirms that at least the Vr metaverse has failed.
Now, with that focus shifting and Meta pulling back – though not exiting the industry, but refocusing on promising new wearables like AI and AR glasses – the hardware landscape is expanding. Over 30 manufacturers are working on such devices, and more than 50 are already on the market. More are expected from Google, Samsung, Xreal, HTC, and Apple.
But how do you build such an Open Metaverse Browser? The traditional DOM architecture doesn’t work when you want to connect virtual objects in an AR metaverse. You have to move away from monolithic game engines, navigate the limitations of WebXR technology, and somehow manage real-world ownership of locations. Not to mention having to convince everyone that this strategy is the right path to take.
That is the job of Sean Mann. The Co-Founder and CEO of RP1, and now Board Member of the Metaverse Standards Forum, delivers more than one enthusiastic speech in this episode about how they plan to achieve this and why it is the way to go.