XBOX has created XBOX LABS, a new team exploring emerging gaming technologies. CEO Asha Sharma announced the group on October 13, following experiments that brought Windows PC games to Apple Silicon devices and web browsers. Game makers, engineers and scientists will work together on ideas that could change where and how people play games.
Some of those browser ports use WebAssembly and WebGPU. These technologies can let you play compatible games in your browser, using your device’s processor instead of a remote server. We’ve covered this approach through Nuuvem’s spawnd platform, which uses both technologies to offer playable browser demos.
XBOX LABS Will Experiment With New Ways to Play
Recent projects have taken games apart and rebuilt them for devices they weren’t originally meant for. Other experiments have combined code from different games to create unusual remixes. These aren’t official XBOX releases, but they helped inspire the new team.
XBOX LABS plans to work openly and share the tools it creates with developers. Sharma also wants people to have more opportunities to create and remix games, not just play them on more devices.
Unofficial game ports raise questions about permission to use copyrighted games. The Verge asked XBOX about unauthorized use of game IP, but hadn’t received a response by publication. Sharma reaffirmed the company’s commitment to protecting its intellectual property and the communities around its games.
WebAssembly and WebGPU Bring Games Into Browsers
WebAssembly allows programs to work efficiently inside a browser. WebGPU lets compatible browsers access a device’s graphics processor. Used together, the technologies can make games playable without a traditional installation or remote gaming server.
That’s different from XBOX Cloud Gaming. With that service, a remote server handles the game and streams video to your screen. Browser-native games use your device’s own processor and graphics capabilities instead. Performance depends on what your device and browser can handle.
Sharma cited WebGPU support approaching 90% globally. That doesn’t mean every browser can play every game. Each game still needs to be adapted to work with the technology.
Nuuvem’s spawnd Provides a Real-World Example
We’ve been following browser-native gaming through Nuuvem’s spawnd platform. In our September 2025 interview, Nuuvem CEO Fernando Campos explained how its demos use WebGPU and WebAssembly. These demos work directly in a browser, with game assets arriving progressively as needed.
In June, we covered Campos’ comments on how spawnd connects game discovery with playable demos. Rather than visiting a storefront or installing a separate demo, someone can open a link and start playing. Campos returned to the subject in a recent LinkedIn post about XBOX LABS. He argues that links could become a major way to discover premium games.
spawnd’s browser games are licensed and controlled by their publishers. It isn’t an XBOX project, but it offers an example of where the same browser technologies are already being used. XBOX LABS hasn’t announced any browser game releases yet. For now, the team’s website offers a signup for updates about its experiments.
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