diff --git a/npm/webpack-dev-server/package.json b/npm/webpack-dev-server/package.json
index 8cdf6519403d..35f683995012 100644
--- a/npm/webpack-dev-server/package.json
+++ b/npm/webpack-dev-server/package.json
@@ -12,7 +12,6 @@
   "dependencies": {
     "@cypress/lazy-compile-webpack-plugin": "0.0.0-development",
     "debug": "4.3.2",
-    "html-webpack-plugin": "^4.0.0",
     "semver": "^7.3.4",
     "webpack-merge": "^5.4.0"
   },
@@ -27,6 +26,7 @@
     "webpack-dev-server": "^3.11.0"
   },
   "peerDependencies": {
+    "html-webpack-plugin": "^4.0.0",
     "webpack": ">=4",
     "webpack-dev-server": "^3.0.0"
   },
diff --git a/npm/webpack-dev-server/src/makeWebpackConfig.ts b/npm/webpack-dev-server/src/makeWebpackConfig.ts
index ab09fa39664e..7526f0339863 100644
--- a/npm/webpack-dev-server/src/makeWebpackConfig.ts
+++ b/npm/webpack-dev-server/src/makeWebpackConfig.ts
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ import CypressCTOptionsPlugin, { CypressCTOptionsPluginOptions } from './plugin'
 
 const debug = debugFn('cypress:webpack-dev-server:makeWebpackConfig')
 const WEBPACK_MAJOR_VERSION = Number(webpack.version.split('.')[0])
-const removeList = ['HtmlWebpackPlugin', 'PreloadPlugin']
 
 export interface UserWebpackDevServerOptions {
   /**
@@ -65,25 +64,6 @@ export async function makeWebpackConfig (userWebpackConfig: webpack.Configuratio
     ],
   }
 
-  // certain plugins conflict with HtmlWebpackPlugin and cause
-  // problems for some setups.
-  // most of these are application optimizations that are not relevant in a
-  // testing environment.
-  // remove those plugins to ensure a smooth configuration experience.
-  // https://github.com/cypress-io/cypress/issues/15865
-  if (userWebpackConfig?.plugins) {
-    userWebpackConfig.plugins = userWebpackConfig.plugins.filter((plugin) => {
-      if (removeList.includes(plugin.constructor.name)) {
-        /* eslint-disable no-console */
-        console.warn(`[@cypress/webpack-dev-server]: removing ${plugin.constructor.name} from configuration.`)
-
-        return false
-      }
-
-      return true
-    })
-  }
-
   const mergedConfig = merge<webpack.Configuration>(
     userWebpackConfig,
     defaultWebpackConfig,
diff --git a/yarn.lock b/yarn.lock
index 2da33a15270d..e6e3b162f984 100644
--- a/yarn.lock
+++ b/yarn.lock
@@ -19133,7 +19133,7 @@ html-webpack-plugin@4.0.0-beta.5:
     tapable "^1.1.0"
     util.promisify "1.0.0"
 
-html-webpack-plugin@^4.0.0, html-webpack-plugin@^4.5.0:
+html-webpack-plugin@^4.5.0:
   version "4.5.2"
   resolved "https://registry.yarnpkg.com/html-webpack-plugin/-/html-webpack-plugin-4.5.2.tgz#76fc83fa1a0f12dd5f7da0404a54e2699666bc12"
   integrity sha512-q5oYdzjKUIPQVjOosjgvCHQOv9Ett9CYYHlgvJeXG0qQvdSojnBq4vAdQBwn1+yGveAwHCoe/rMR86ozX3+c2A==