Hi there! My name is Janko Roettgers, and this is Lowpass. This week: Atlas Obscura’s WebXR expansion, and Ken Paxton’s anti-ACR lawsuits.

Atlas Obscura is getting metaverse embeds

Atlas Obscura has been crowdsourcing strange and wonderful places from all around the world since its founding in 2009. To date, the site’s users and editorial staff have collected and curated articles and photos for over 32,000 such places, ranging from abandoned theme parks to hidden beaches to Japan’s Cat Island. Atlas Obscura’s community has created over 93 million lists throughout the years, and the company has been releasing books and podcasts to further highlight the obscure and visit-worthy.

Of course, many of the listed places are simply out of reach for most people. “The premise of the company was to make exploration available to everybody,” says Atlas Obscura’s chief content officer Doug Baldinger. That includes people who can’t afford expensive international travel. When consumer VR first emerged a decade ago, its ability to transport people to faraway places seemed a perfect solution for adventure seekers unable to visit them in person. “We [wanted] to show people that you can have access to these things wherever you are,” he says.

Alas, the tech wasn’t what it was cracked up to be. Aiming for maximum exposure, Atlas Obscura bet on affordable headsets like Samsung’s Gear VR and Meta’s Oculus Go, only to quickly realize that those devices came with massive limitations. Without six degrees of freedom, visiting a place in VR didn't really feel like being there. Plus, most of those early headsets ended up catching dust, with disillusioned consumers giving up on them after a few weeks.

“The delivery platform wasn’t really up to what we wanted to do with it,” recalls Nathan Anderson, whose New Canvas studio has been helping Atlas Obscura with its immersive media efforts.

Atlas Obscura gave VR another shot last year by re-releasing its app with remastered content on Meta’s Quest, and in recent weeks also brought it to Android XR and Steam. Now, the company is getting ready to bring immersive experiences to anyone no matter what device they’re using. In early 2026, Atlas Obscura plans to launch a WebXR-based social 3D experience called the Obscura Society.

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