Godot WebGPU

🚀 Godot Web Games are now 5x faster 🚀

5x FPS vs WebGL

80% FPS vs Native

20K+ Lines Written

146 Shaders Converted

Looking for the original Godot Engine README? See GODOT_README.md.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about the WebGPU backend — architecture, performance, compatibility, and more.

Read the FAQ →

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Development Journey

I'm David Walter, the developer of Shiny Gen. I needed better performance on Godot Web and compute shader support for Shiny Gen. Instead of switching to three.js, I decided to stick with Godot and implement WebGPU support. Now Shiny Gen runs on Godot WebGPU — super optimized and with compute shaders.

Date	Milestone
March 10, 2026	Started development. Forked Godot 4.6.2, began implementing the WebGPU rendering driver.
March — May 2026	Built the full WebGPU backend over ~2 months, working for 4-12 hours a day with Claude Opus 4.6.
May 10, 2026	Public beta release. 146 shaders precompiled, 10 demos, 6 benchmarks, zero GPU errors across Chrome, Firefox, and Safari.

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Browser Compatibility

Platform	Browser	Status
macOS	Chrome 113+	100%
macOS	Safari 18+	100%
macOS	Firefox	100%
Android	Chrome	Mostly (wip)
iOS	Safari	Mostly (wip)
Windows	Any	TODO
Linux	Any	TODO

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Live Demos

Try each demo in your browser at godotwebgpu.com. WebGPU requires Chrome 113+ or Safari 18+.

GPU Particles 2D 2D • Particle trails, collision, multiple emitters • NEW on Web	Compute Texture Compute • Compute shader populating textures in real-time • NEW on Web	GPU Particles 3D 3D • Compute-driven particles: fire, burst effects • NEW on Web
Compute Heightmap Compute • GPU compute shader generating terrain heightmap • NEW on Web	2D Platformer 2D • Sprites, parallax backgrounds, physics	3D Platformer 3D • PBR materials, directional shadows, CharacterBody3D
Lights & Shadows 3D • Directional, omni, spot lights with PCSS shadows	Sprite Shaders 2D • Outline, blur, shadow, silhouette effects	GUI in 3D Viewport • SubViewport rendering 2D GUI on a 3D surface
Control Gallery UI • Full showcase of all Godot UI controls

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Performance Benchmarks

Stress tests comparing WebGPU (Forward Mobile) vs WebGL (Compatibility) at high object counts. FPS measured on Mac Studio M3 Ultra, Chrome 134.

Try all benchmarks live at godotwebgpu.com/#benchmarks.

	Benchmark	Description	WebGPU vs WebGL
	Sprites	Bouncing sprites with random colors	5x faster
	PBR Sphere	High-poly PBR sphere with directional shadow	4x faster
	Cubes + Lights	Rotating cubes with shadow-casting lights	4x faster
	GPU Particles	GPU particles with gradient colors	5x faster
	Skeletal Animation	GPU-skinned cylinders with bone animations	New
	Other Effects	SSAO + Bloom + SubViewport with PBR cubes	New

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Downloads

Build from Source

Clone the repo and build the engine yourself.

Download the GodotWebGPU Editor (Coming Soon)

Pre-built macOS editor with WebGPU export support.

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Building from Source

# WebGPU-only release template:
scons platform=web target=template_release dlink_enabled=yes webgpu=yes opengl3=no threads=no

Requirements:

• Emscripten 4.0.10+ (for the emdawnwebgpu port)
• No Rust toolchain needed (Tint C++ translator is compiled directly into the engine)
• Standard Godot build dependencies (SCons, Python, C++ compiler)

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Documentation

In-depth technical documentation for the WebGPU backend.

Architecture & Design

High-level architecture, key design decisions, shader pipeline, and how the WebGPU backend compares to Vulkan/Metal.

Technical Reference

Driver core, command recording, bind groups, shader pipeline details, texture/buffer operations, and build system.

Performance & Optimization

The journey from 3.25x slower to parity — staging buffers, shadow pass merging, instance batching, and IPC reduction.

Correctness & Compatibility

Resource lifecycle guarantees, cross-browser compatibility, error handling, testing coverage, and known limitations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about the WebGPU backend — architecture, performance, compatibility, and more.

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Key Stats

Metric	Value
Total new code	~20,000+ lines
Driver implementation	7,733 lines (single .cpp)
Shaders converted	146 (SPIR-V → WGSL via Tint)
Renderer	Forward Mobile
Performance vs native	~80% of Vulkan/Metal FPS
Performance vs WebGL	Up to 5x faster
Browser support	Chrome 113+, Firefox 120+, Safari 18+, Chrome Android, Safari iOS

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Sponsored by Shiny Gen AI

_{Godot WebGPU, Shiny Gen AI, and David Walter are not directly affiliated with or endorsed by the Godot Foundation. It uses the GODOT® name and logos under a permissive license granted by the Godot Foundation. Godot WebGPU is a free and open source fork of the Godot Engine. Shiny Gen is a game maker app built with Godot. And David Walter is the developer of Shiny Gen and Godot WebGPU.}