I know you're trying to get into the festive spirit, but I'm afraid I need to be the bearer of bad news. After 25 years, Google has finally pulled the plug on support for the Dreamcast's web browser. Yes, I know that might have ruined your Christmas Day browsing plans, but there it is - the end of an era.
PlanetWeb 3.0 has finally fallen foul of the never-slowing path of progress. It doesn't have a place in a world of Teraflops and AI, and Google has unfortunately had to end support for the browser.
I know it's sad to think about retro tech being shunned in a modern world, especially when we grew up with it, but try explaining to TikTok-using teenagers about how the CD replaced the Tape or how you never used to be able to use the internet and your house phone at the same time, and they'll look at you like you've just crawled out of a cave.
Still, hope is not completely lost.
Sad news guys. After over 25 years of support, Google has finally discontinued support for Dreamcast web browsers. ☹️ pic.twitter.com/3FEKtNWtO1
— Dreamcast Live (@dclivenet) December 14, 2025
Have you heard of frogfind? It's an alternative search engine created by YouTube's very own Action Retro, real name Sean, to combat this exact problem. Sean wanted to help older tech products that didn't fit into our fast-paced world still access the internet, converting as much of the internet as possible into simple websites that older machines could still read.
According to the FrogFind website, the search engine is basically a rewrapped and simplified version of DuckDuckGo that converts everything you search for into super basic HTML so that older machines can load it up. It was built for classic Macs, but FrogFind can work on any text-based browser, which means PlanetWeb 3.0 is out, and FrogFind is in!
Listen, just because you don't search for things on your Dreamcast doesn't mean that you shouldn't be able to. I bet you didn't realise that we needed a demake of Super Mario Bros. Wonder or a 4K version of the N64, but they're both amazing. That's what I love about the retro gaming community - they're the only ones keeping the past alive when the big companies have forgotten about their past achievements.
It's because of their efforts that we now have a playable version of Resident Evil on the GBC, and cancelled N64 games like Viewpoint being brought back from the brink for players to experience.
There we are; at least I got to finish this article on a high. Thanks to Sean's work with FrogFind, the Dreamcast can carry on thriving into 2026 and beyond! It's a Christmas miracle!
