Browser Support & Fixes
Won’t load, black screen, a rate-limit error, “Fake website detected”, a download that won’t start — every way the game fails, with the cause and the next step that fixes it. Find your symptom in the table, jump to the fix.
Checked against v0.123.0Updated October 2026
Quick triage — find your symptom
| Symptom | What it means | Do this |
|---|---|---|
| Black screen, or an error about WebGPU | Your browser or GPU can't run the game's renderer | Update Chrome/Edge (113+), turn on hardware acceleration → |
| "Too many people are playing" (HTTP 429) | The official servers are overloaded — not your setup | Retry off-peak, or switch to the Windows build → |
| "Fake website detected" | You're on a mirror or an embed, not the official site | Close it — play only on wow.aethus.pl → |
| Download won't start, or the file won't open | Old link drifted, or the archive was cut off | Use the download page's daily-checked link and fallbacks → |
| Stuttering or low FPS | GPU is shared, throttled or driver-starved | Hardware acceleration, close GPU-heavy tabs, fullscreen → |
Not sure what you have? The play page runs a live WebGPU check and names the missing piece before you commit to a load.
Won’t load, black screen, or a WebGPU error
The game renders through WebGPU, a modern graphics API that most current browsers ship but older setups, managed devices and some drivers don’t expose cleanly. In order of what fixes most people:
- Update your browser. Chrome or Edge 113+ (May 2023 or later) — any current version is fine.
- Enable hardware acceleration (Chrome/Edge: Settings → System → “Use graphics acceleration when available”), then fully restart the browser.
- Update your GPU drivers — driver updates fix the majority of remaining black-screen reports.
- Still nothing? On Linux or older hardware, WebGPU may sit behind a flag: enable
chrome://flags/#enable-unsafe-webgpu(Firefox has an equivalent). The matrix below shows what your setup can expect.
WebGPU support by browser
| Browser | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Chrome / Edge (Windows, macOS) | Works out of the box | WebGPU stable since version 113 — any current version is fine |
| Safari (macOS) | Works on recent versions | Update Safari to the latest release; older macOS versions may lack WebGPU |
| Safari (iOS / iPadOS) | Device-dependent | WebGPU is available on recent iOS — performance varies by chip |
| Chrome (Android) | Mostly works | Chrome 121+ enabled WebGPU on many Android devices; flagship chips are smoothest |
| Firefox | Platform-dependent | Shipped WebGPU on Windows first (141+); macOS/Linux behind flags |
| Linux (any browser) | Flag territory | Chrome: enable chrome://flags/#enable-unsafe-webgpu; Firefox similar |
The 429 / “Too many people are playing” error
The original game’s servers are frequently overloaded, and the host rate-limits with HTTP 429. It’s not your machine — the server is simply saying “not right now”. What helps:
- Off-peak windows. Evenings and weekends are the busiest; mornings are consistently lighter.
- Retry after a few minutes instead of hammering reload — the limit is per-client.
- Switch to the download version when you want a guaranteed session. It’s the same game from the developer’s own file host, no browser in the loop.
“Fake website detected”
That message comes from the game itself. The original build only runs on the developer’s own site and actively refuses to run anywhere else — when it detects it has been embedded in or mirrored by another page, it stops and shows “Fake website detected”. Seeing it means the page you’re on is not the official game.
Next step:
- Close that site. Mirror and aggregator pages are where fake download buttons, payment prompts and credential grabs live. The real game is free — anyone asking for money or a Blizzard login is not the developer.
- Play on the official site — open wow.aethus.pl in its own tab. That is the only place the browser version runs.
- Or use the official Windows build from the download page — same game, runs locally, no browser involved.
The download won’t start, or the file won’t open
This site mirrors nothing — it links to the developer’s own hosting, and the developer occasionally renames or moves the official archive, which breaks links that sites (including this one) cached. Two other common causes: the download was cut off, or the archive wasn’t fully extracted. What to do:
- Use the download page, not an old link. It re-verifies the official file every day, follows the developer when they rename things, and switches to fallbacks automatically when the link is down — so the page never hands you a dead link.
- Compare the file size with the size published on the download page (copied from the developer’s server daily). Smaller file = cut-off download; fetch it again.
- Stuck anyway? Three exits, none of them through a mirror: play in the browser, ask on the official Discord, or open the developer’s file folder for other official builds — all linked from the download page.
Playing on mobile & handhelds
The game expects keyboard movement (WASD) — touch input is not mapped — so phones and tablets are the compromise tier, not the intended target. What’s true today:
| Platform | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Android · flagship | Playable | Chrome 121+ ships WebGPU on recent devices — Snapdragon 8-class chips run it comfortably |
| Android · mid-range | Varies | WebGPU may be present but framerate drops in late waves |
| iOS / iPadOS | Device-dependent | Recent Safari supports WebGPU; performance varies heavily by chip |
| Windows-on-Android (Winlator) | Community route | Running the official Windows build through Winlator works for some players — unsupported, your mileage may vary |
No touch controls exist, so mobile runs need a paired keyboard/controller to actually move. For a dependable session, desktop Chrome, Edge or Safari remains the path — or the Windows build when the browser fights you.
Stuttering or low FPS
- Enable hardware acceleration in browser settings (Chrome/Edge: System → “Use graphics acceleration when available”), then restart the browser.
- Update GPU drivers — WebGPU moves fast, and driver updates fix the majority of “black screen” reports.
- Close other GPU-heavy tabs (other games, video calls, WebGL dashboards). One WebGPU context per tab, but the GPU is shared.
- Fullscreen helps. Put the browser itself into fullscreen (F11 on Windows, ⌃⌘F on macOS) — hiding the browser’s own UI reduces compositing overhead in dense waves.
- Plugged-in > battery saver. Laptops throttle GPUs on battery; survivors-like late waves expose it immediately.
Managed devices, school & work networks
The browser version needs to reach wow.aethus.pl and its asset host; some filtered networks block game-classified domains outright. There is no separate “unblocked” edition — any site claiming to mirror one isn’t the developer’s (and will likely hand you the “Fake website detected” screen anyway). The legitimate fallback is the official Windows download, which runs as a local application instead of through the browser. If you’re on a managed device, asking your administrator beats fighting the proxy — and nobody should ever pay for or “unlock” this game; it’s free from the developer.