Playing immersive media with RealityKit

At a glance

Project structure

Source bundle/
└── RealityKitImmersivePlayback/
    ├── RealityKitImmersivePlaybackApp.swift  # RealityKitImmersivePlaybackApp
    ├── Models/
    │   ├── PlayerModel.swift  # PlayerModel
    │   ├── AppModel.swift  # AppModel, ImmersiveSpaceState, WindowState
    │   └── VideoModel.swift  # VideoModel, ContentType, Mode
    ├── Scenes/
    │   └── PlayerImmersiveSpace.swift  # PlayerImmersiveSpace, ProgressivePlayerImmersiveSpace, SpatialPlayerImmersiveSpace
    └── Views/
        ├── ContentView.swift  # ContentView
        ├── ImmersiveControlsView.swift  # ImmersiveControlsView
        └── LoadingIndicator.swift  # LoadingIndicator, LoadingIndicatorOverlay, LoadingIndicatorSpatialOverlay

Structure observations

• The runtime boundary is WindowGroup + ImmersiveSpace; the pruned tree lists only files that explain lifecycle, state, or framework integration.
• App code is split into role-named views, models, managers, providers, components, or systems.

Overall architecture

flowchart LR
    RealityKitImmersivePlaybackApp_1["RealityKitImmersivePlaybackApp"]
    WindowGroup___ImmersiveSpace_2["WindowGroup + ImmersiveSpace"]
    ProgressivePlayerImmersiveSpace_3["ProgressivePlayerImmersiveSpace"]
    AppModel_4["AppModel"]
    RealityView_entity_graph_5["RealityView entity graph"]
    AV_playback___system_presentation_6["AV playback + system presentation"]
    RealityKitImmersivePlaybackApp_1 --> WindowGroup___ImmersiveSpace_2
    WindowGroup___ImmersiveSpace_2 --> ProgressivePlayerImmersiveSpace_3
    ProgressivePlayerImmersiveSpace_3 --> AppModel_4
    AppModel_4 --> RealityView_entity_graph_5
    RealityView_entity_graph_5 --> AV_playback___system_presentation_6

Reference code

RealityKitImmersivePlayback/RealityKitImmersivePlaybackApp.swift:11 — the app or executable entry declares the outer scene lifecycle.

struct RealityKitImmersivePlaybackApp: App {
    // ...
}

The diagram is a responsibility flow, not a claim that every adjacent node directly calls the next. It keeps scene ownership, shared state, RealityKit content, and framework-provider work at separate levels.

Ownership and state

classDiagram
    RealityKitImmersivePlaybackApp *-- AppModel : appModel
    AppModel --> VideoModel : selectedVideo
    AppModel --> PlayerModel : playerModel
    AppModel --> WindowState : windowState

Ownership evidence

RealityKitImmersivePlayback/RealityKitImmersivePlaybackApp.swift:17 — representative stored state or the nearest verified lifecycle anchor.

@main
struct RealityKitImmersivePlaybackApp: App {
    // ...
    @State private var appModel = AppModel()
    // ...
}

Ownership here is deliberately narrow: @Environment and weak references are shared links, initialized @State or stored services are lifecycle ownership, and a RealityView content closure owns additions to its entity graph without making the SwiftUI view a reference-type owner.

Class and protocol design

The source defines no local substitution protocol in the reviewed boundary. Its protocol use is framework-facing (App, View, RealityKit/ARKit protocols, or platform adapters), so this document does not label the whole app protocol-oriented.

Access control

No reviewed declaration uses open; unmodified Swift declarations are internal.

Reference code

RealityKitImmersivePlayback/Models/AppModel.swift:23 — representative visibility boundary.

    private(set) var selectedVideo: VideoModel?
    private(set) var videoModes: VideoModes?

    init() {
        // ...
    }

Logic ownership and placement

Design patterns

Naming conventions

• Role suffixes are evidence, not decoration: App: RealityKitImmersivePlaybackApp; Model: AppModel, PlayerModel, VideoModel; View: ContentView, ImmersiveControlsView, TransportView, VideoPlayerView.
• Protocols: no app-defined protocol in the reviewed source.
• Commands use verb-led methods: closeImmersivePlayer, makeDefaultScenes, openImmersivePlayer, transitionStageFromBrowsingToPlayback, transitionStageFromPlaybackToBrowsing, transitionPlaybackStages, transitionStage, loadItem.
• Files generally match their primary type; Views, Models, Managers, Providers, Components, Systems, and Packages folders describe architectural roles where present.

Architecture takeaways

• Treat RealityKitImmersivePlaybackApp as the owner of scene declarations, not as the owner of every RealityKit entity created later.
• Keep view-local interaction in SwiftUI, but move provider sessions, playback resources, shared game state, or transport state into a stable owner when their lifetime exceeds one render pass.
• Model immersive-space open, transition, and close states explicitly so windows and immersive content cannot drift apart.

Source map

• Official Apple documentation