diff --git a/.github/workflows/e2e-test.yml b/.github/workflows/e2e-test.yml
index 147a8ba3ec..3ce7fbc450 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/e2e-test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/e2e-test.yml
@@ -299,6 +299,11 @@ jobs:
             command: |
               vp test
               vp check --fix
+          - name: vitest-playwright-repro
+            node-version: 24
+            command: |
+              npx playwright install chromium
+              vp test
         exclude:
           # frm-stack uses Docker (testcontainers) which doesn't work the same way on Windows
           - os: windows-latest
diff --git a/ecosystem-ci/repo.json b/ecosystem-ci/repo.json
index 63fb7b3f26..cfe198f8af 100644
--- a/ecosystem-ci/repo.json
+++ b/ecosystem-ci/repo.json
@@ -108,5 +108,10 @@
     "branch": "main",
     "hash": "419653665e4f0688ad3cac68a34673fdd0632b55",
     "forceFreshMigration": true
+  },
+  "vitest-playwright-repro": {
+    "repository": "https://github.com/why-reproductions-are-required/vitest-playwright-repro.git",
+    "branch": "main",
+    "hash": "f7252170025c01ec482fa9ad43e09b965f46928f"
   }
 }
diff --git a/packages/cli/snap-tests-global/migration-from-vitest-config/snap.txt b/packages/cli/snap-tests-global/migration-from-vitest-config/snap.txt
index 190eaba12a..ad63e3e64b 100644
--- a/packages/cli/snap-tests-global/migration-from-vitest-config/snap.txt
+++ b/packages/cli/snap-tests-global/migration-from-vitest-config/snap.txt
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ export default defineConfig({
   "devDependencies": {
     "vite": "npm:@voidzero-dev/vite-plus-core@latest",
     "vitest": "npm:@voidzero-dev/vite-plus-test@latest",
+    "playwright": "*",
     "vite-plus": "latest"
   },
   "pnpm": {
diff --git a/packages/cli/snap-tests-global/migration-from-vitest-files/snap.txt b/packages/cli/snap-tests-global/migration-from-vitest-files/snap.txt
index 1e5bd0e51d..49a6c41b9f 100644
--- a/packages/cli/snap-tests-global/migration-from-vitest-files/snap.txt
+++ b/packages/cli/snap-tests-global/migration-from-vitest-files/snap.txt
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ VITE+ - The Unified Toolchain for the Web
   "devDependencies": {
     "vite": "npm:@voidzero-dev/vite-plus-core@latest",
     "vitest": "npm:@voidzero-dev/vite-plus-test@latest",
+    "playwright": "*",
     "vite-plus": "latest"
   },
   "pnpm": {
diff --git a/packages/cli/snap-tests-global/migration-merge-vite-config-ts/snap.txt b/packages/cli/snap-tests-global/migration-merge-vite-config-ts/snap.txt
index bc115eb91e..551041e487 100644
--- a/packages/cli/snap-tests-global/migration-merge-vite-config-ts/snap.txt
+++ b/packages/cli/snap-tests-global/migration-merge-vite-config-ts/snap.txt
@@ -70,6 +70,7 @@ export default defineConfig({
     "@vitejs/plugin-react": "^4.2.0",
     "vite": "npm:@voidzero-dev/vite-plus-core@latest",
     "vitest": "npm:@voidzero-dev/vite-plus-test@latest",
+    "playwright": "*",
     "vite-plus": "latest"
   },
   "pnpm": {
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/migration/__tests__/migrator.spec.ts b/packages/cli/src/migration/__tests__/migrator.spec.ts
index 47a9086448..63c41cdebe 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/migration/__tests__/migrator.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/migration/__tests__/migrator.spec.ts
@@ -129,6 +129,60 @@ describe('rewritePackageJson', () => {
     rewritePackageJson(pkg, PackageManager.yarn, true);
     expect(pkg).toMatchSnapshot();
   });
+
+  it('should preserve playwright when removing @vitest/browser-playwright', async () => {
+    const pkg = {
+      devDependencies: {
+        '@vitest/browser': '^4.0.0',
+        '@vitest/browser-playwright': '^4.0.0',
+        vitest: '^4.0.0',
+      },
+    };
+    rewritePackageJson(pkg, PackageManager.pnpm);
+    expect(pkg.devDependencies).toHaveProperty('playwright', '*');
+    expect(pkg.devDependencies).not.toHaveProperty('@vitest/browser');
+    expect(pkg.devDependencies).not.toHaveProperty('@vitest/browser-playwright');
+  });
+
+  it('should preserve webdriverio when removing @vitest/browser-webdriverio', async () => {
+    const pkg = {
+      devDependencies: {
+        '@vitest/browser': '^4.0.0',
+        '@vitest/browser-webdriverio': '^4.0.0',
+        vitest: '^4.0.0',
+      },
+    };
+    rewritePackageJson(pkg, PackageManager.pnpm);
+    expect(pkg.devDependencies).toHaveProperty('webdriverio', '*');
+    expect(pkg.devDependencies).not.toHaveProperty('@vitest/browser-webdriverio');
+  });
+
+  it('should not overwrite playwright if already in devDependencies', async () => {
+    const pkg = {
+      devDependencies: {
+        '@vitest/browser-playwright': '^4.0.0',
+        playwright: '^1.40.0',
+        vitest: '^4.0.0',
+      },
+    };
+    rewritePackageJson(pkg, PackageManager.pnpm);
+    expect(pkg.devDependencies).toHaveProperty('playwright', '^1.40.0');
+  });
+
+  it('should not add playwright if already in dependencies', async () => {
+    const pkg = {
+      dependencies: {
+        playwright: '^1.40.0',
+      },
+      devDependencies: {
+        '@vitest/browser-playwright': '^4.0.0',
+        vitest: '^4.0.0',
+      },
+    };
+    rewritePackageJson(pkg, PackageManager.pnpm);
+    expect(pkg.dependencies).toHaveProperty('playwright', '^1.40.0');
+    expect(pkg.devDependencies).not.toHaveProperty('playwright');
+  });
 });
 
 describe('parseNvmrcVersion', () => {
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/migration/migrator.ts b/packages/cli/src/migration/migrator.ts
index e844f42584..5b3151d68d 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/migration/migrator.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/migration/migrator.ts
@@ -78,6 +78,13 @@ const REMOVE_PACKAGES = [
   '@vitest/browser-webdriverio',
 ] as const;
 
+// When a browser provider package is removed, its runtime peer dependency
+// must be preserved in devDependencies so browser tests continue to work.
+const BROWSER_PROVIDER_PEER_DEPS: Record<string, string> = {
+  '@vitest/browser-playwright': 'playwright',
+  '@vitest/browser-webdriverio': 'webdriverio',
+};
+
 function warnMigration(message: string, report?: MigrationReport) {
   addMigrationWarning(report, message);
   if (!report) {
@@ -1203,14 +1210,27 @@ export function rewritePackageJson(
   }
   // remove packages that are replaced with vite-plus
   for (const name of REMOVE_PACKAGES) {
-    if (pkg.devDependencies?.[name]) {
-      delete pkg.devDependencies[name];
+    const wasInDevDeps = !!pkg.devDependencies?.[name];
+    const wasInDeps = !!pkg.dependencies?.[name];
+    if (wasInDevDeps) {
+      delete pkg.devDependencies![name];
       needVitePlus = true;
     }
-    if (pkg.dependencies?.[name]) {
-      delete pkg.dependencies[name];
+    if (wasInDeps) {
+      delete pkg.dependencies![name];
       needVitePlus = true;
     }
+    // e.g., removing @vitest/browser-playwright should keep `playwright` in devDeps
+    const peerDep = BROWSER_PROVIDER_PEER_DEPS[name];
+    if (
+      (wasInDevDeps || wasInDeps) &&
+      peerDep &&
+      !pkg.devDependencies?.[peerDep] &&
+      !pkg.dependencies?.[peerDep]
+    ) {
+      pkg.devDependencies ??= {};
+      pkg.devDependencies[peerDep] = '*';
+    }
   }
   if (needVitePlus) {
     // add vite-plus to devDependencies
diff --git a/packages/test/build.ts b/packages/test/build.ts
index 3defd727f0..9f2d1cf3da 100644
--- a/packages/test/build.ts
+++ b/packages/test/build.ts
@@ -1637,6 +1637,18 @@ async function patchVitestBrowserPackage() {
     );
   }
 
+  // 5. Patch version to use VP_VERSION, preventing the "Running mixed versions" warning
+  const versionPattern = /var version = "(\d+\.\d+\.\d+[^"]*)"/;
+  const beforeVersion = content;
+  content = content.replace(versionPattern, 'var version = process.env.VP_VERSION || "$1"');
+  if (content === beforeVersion) {
+    throw new Error(
+      'Failed to patch version in @vitest/browser/index.js: pattern not found. ' +
+        'This likely means vitest code has changed and the patch needs to be updated.',
+    );
+  }
+  console.log('  Patched version to use VP_VERSION env var');
+
   await writeFile(browserIndexPath, content, 'utf-8');
   console.log('  Successfully patched @vitest/browser/index.js');
 }