WebAssembly (WASM) promised near-native performance for the web. In 2026, it is delivering on that promise in unexpected ways.
Beyond Games
While gaming is still a huge use case, we are seeing WASM power:
- Video Editing: Full NLEs running in the browser (like DaVinci Resolve Web).
- Image Processing: Client-side compression tools that rival desktop apps.
- AI Inference: Running local LLMs directly in the browser with WebGPU + WASM.
Garbage Collection
The addition of WasmGC (Garbage Collection) means languages like Kotlin, Dart, and Java can now compile to WASM efficiently, without shipping their own massive runtime. This opens the door for a new wave of frameworks.