BrowserArena retro game streaming

A compliant hosted playground for browser-based retro game runtimes

Problem

Multiple developers in the community have independently brought Red Alert 2, Warcraft III, and Yuri's Revenge to the browser via v86 + WebGL. Each demo works in isolation, but every author has to rebuild CDN delivery, file handling, multiplayer matchmaking, and player-uploaded game files from scratch. Players either can't find an entry point or get stuck uploading local files and joining matches.

Solution

A portal that hosts these v86/WebGL runtime games. Authors upload their runtime and assets, then get an embeddable iframe and short link. The platform handles WASM delivery, asset caching, room creation with NAT traversal, and replay viewing as shared infrastructure. Players bring their own original game files and play without installs or signup.

Users

Retro gaming fans, indie devs maintaining v86/WebGL ports, and small communities wanting nostalgic game nights.

MVP

Host only two runtimes: Red Alert 2 and Warcraft III with one-click launch; provide embeddable iframe and shareable short links; use WebRTC plus room codes for P2P multiplayer; keep player-uploaded game files in browser memory only; give authors a dashboard with traffic and crash logs.

Revenue

Free hosting plus a monthly pro subscription for custom domains, watermark removal, private rooms, and replay storage; revenue share with runtime authors.

Why now

v86 and WebGL2 are mature in browsers, and several developers landed on the same approach, proving the runtime layer is reusable. Compliance hosting and multiplayer are the shared plumbing everyone rebuilds but nobody offers, making it a fast solo build.