Video.js Creator Returns to Lead Project with Major Mux Investment in Open Source Video Player Modernization

Original creator Steve Heffernan and Mux announce complete rebuild of Video.js with first-class support for React, TypeScript, and modern tooling

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, October 30, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- At the Demuxed conference, Mux, the video infrastructure platform for developers, today announced that it has become the corporate shepherd of Video.js, the world’s most popular open source HTML5 video player. Steve Heffernan, original project creator and co-founder of Mux, will lead development of Video.js version 10, a complete rebuild designed for modern development workflows.

Since 2010, Video.js has powered video playback for millions of websites serving billions of monthly viewers. It is the backbone of web video, trusted by Amazon, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Dropbox to enable video experiences. The open source project has earned 38,700 GitHub stars, attracted 470 contributors, and resulted in 573 plugins, establishing itself as critical infrastructure for web video.

“Fifteen years ago, when web video was simpler, I built Video.js to bridge the gap from Flash to HTML5. Today's players have since become a bit bloated, often weighing in at close to a megabyte and trying to support everything out of the box," said Heffernan. "This creates monolithic cores that can’t simultaneously hit performance goals of short-form video and feature requirements of complex use cases. It’s time to rebuild with modern tools and thinking."

Video.js v10 abandons the monolithic architecture that has characterized web video players. In the new version, the UI will be separated from the underlying media renderer, with every component working independently through open API contracts. The project is structured to support tree-shaking and intelligent code splitting with modern JavaScript bundlers. Developers can start with a small player and add only what they need, resulting in bundle size reductions of 70-80% compared to Video.js v8 for minimal implementations.

The rebuilt architecture centers on unstyled UI primitives similar to BaseUI and Radix for deep customization, with framework-specific components to provide idiomatic experiences in React, HTML, and eventually React Native. A custom compiler translates skins from React and Tailwind into any combination of JavaScript and CSS frameworks. This allows developers to customize within their existing stack rather than learning player-specific frameworks.

Sam Potts, creator of Plyr, a player beloved for its beautiful aesthetic that loads billions of times every month, has joined the Video.js project as the designer behind the new skins. Also joining the development effort are Wes Luyten (Media Chrome lead), Rahim Alwar (Vidstack creator), and Christian Pillsbury (streaming engine architect). Long-time contributors Gary Katsevman from NBC and Garrett Singer from Netflix continue to help drive community engagement.

The Video.js Technical Steering Committee approved Mux’s stewardship, validating the technical direction and confirming community alignment. Mux will maintain Video.js as a fully open-source project with transparent governance through its Technical Steering Committee, a public RFC process for major changes, long-term support for releases, and clear attribution for contributors.

Heffernan acknowledged the scope of changes ahead: “This isn't just the next version of Video.js with updates, Video.js v10 is the future of multiple amazing players and a bold rebuild that will take a lot of work. But if we're aiming for another 15 years, it's time we rethink what ‘player’ even means."

Developers can access the Video.js v10 technical preview today to explore the new architecture and provide feedback that will shape the final release. The beta is expected February 2026, with general availability planned for mid-2026.

For more information, see Heffernan’s announcement post. To access the Video.js v10 technical preview, visit https://v10.videojs.org/.

Vivian Creasy
Mux
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