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bgfx WebGPU backend, second take!

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Branimir Karadzic

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Description

bgfx WebGPU backend, second take is a January 2026 technical blog post by Branimir Karadzic on restoring and redesigning a WebGPU backend for the bgfx cross-platform rendering library.

It recounts the 2019-2020 early backend that used SPIR-V and was removed in 2023, then the 2025 rebuild using C webgpu headers, Dawn, and a GLSL-to-HLSL-to-SPIR-V-to-Tint-to-WGSL shaderc path. Sections cover WGSL as textual IR, WebGPU API design likes and dislikes, Dawn and Tint bugs found during integration, and how to build Dawn native shared libraries for examples.

It is for advanced graphics engineers maintaining multi-backend renderers or evaluating WebGPU as a bgfx target. Familiarity with bgfx views and native GPU APIs helps.

The post is free HTML on the author's site with build steps and issue references.

It is useful as a maintainer-level status report on WebGPU readiness for mid-level abstraction libraries in 2026.