The news that 8th Wall will wind down its platform, with access ending in February and hosting shut off one year later, marks an important moment for the XR community.

For museums, galleries and cultural organisations specifically, it’s a good time to think about ensuring your immersive experiences are future-proof, adaptable and sustainable.

We’ve been working on AR and VR projects for the past seven years, and in that time we’ve seen the landscape change almost beyond recognition.

What that journey led to is a standards-based, sustainable and accessible WebXR platform built with the missions, budgets and audiences of our sector in mind.

If you’re wondering where to turn in a post-8th Wall world, we’re pleased to announce a full package of support to help you manage that migration. You can read more about that below.

How Smartify’s AR journey started

First though, it’s worth taking a moment to reflect on where we were seven years ago.

When we started experimenting with early AR concepts, we quickly faced the same challenges as everyone else:

• Every experience required two separate builds (iOS and Android)

• Shared standards weren’t a thing

• Early WebAR frameworks were promising but inconsistent, costly and limited

• Development costs were often beyond the budgets of most museums and art galleries

At the same time, our vision for Smartify was expanding. Instead of standalone AR ”moments”, we imagined weaving immersive layers into the visitor journey:

• High-fidelity 3D models with animation, ‘X-ray’ layers and annotations

• Accessible 3D and AR viewers

• 360° virtual tours

• Full AR and VR mini-games

• And all of this inside a white-label, cross-platform environment that didn‘t need expensive hardware

At the time though, achieving all that was only possible by combining the capabilities of platforms like Sketchfab, Matterport and 8th Wall. We wanted something that was user friendly, accessible, customisable, cohesive and, most of all, cost effective!

This led to one of the most important decisions we’ve made: build a WebXR foundation that is open, flexible and aligned with the long-term needs of museums, not tied to proprietary formats or closed ecosystems.

Our approach: sustainability and standards

While much of the industry built strategies around specific XR vendors, we took a different approach: investing steadily in core technologies that could evolve alongside our partners’ needs. This included:

• A standards-based engine, using future-forward, widely supported technologies like WebXR, WebGL, WebGPU and GLTF

• A new approach to optimising and simplifying 3D models, built in collaboration with leading universities

• An accessible 3D and AR viewer: screen reader compatibility, captions, contrast modes and WCAG-aligned controls

• Support for marker-based and markerless AR

• On-device recognition and tracking frameworks

• And seamless integration inside Smartify, without the need for more apps or software

This approach has been validated many times:

• We won a Webby Award for our Virtual Van Gogh immersive experience

• The Horniman Museum’s “Animals Everywhere” AR experience, coming in 2026, is built entirely on our WebXR stack

• A “skyline scanner” at one of London’s most recognisable skyscrapers lets visitors instantly pick out landmarks across the city

• Places like the Ashmolean Museum can easily make immovable, fragile objects more interactive, while organisations like Historic Royal Palaces can transport people to their sites from anywhere in the world

Every project is different in size and scope, but we never lose sight of one guiding principle. The most successful XR projects are open, integrated, accessible and sustainable – experiences that are built to evolve, rather than expire.

How we can help: the Smartify XR Migration Programme

This is a natural moment for institutions to rethink how their immersive content is planned, maintained and evolved.

To help, we’re pleased to announce the Smartify XR Migration Programme: a package of support that will ensure continuity and a more sustainable approach going forward. This includes:

• Free technical consultation

• Audit of existing WebAR experiences

• Export and recovery planning

• Rebuild options on Smartify’s WebXR platform

• Long-term hosting and maintenance

• Integration with Smartify or your existing apps/websites

• Accessibility reviews and optimisation

If you’re thinking about exporting and securing your assets, mapping what needs replacing or updating, or looking into new hosting and support plans, we’re keen to support you.

Get in touch to find out more, and discover how our dependable platform is powering the future of immersive museum experiences.