Neural activity in the neonatal mouse retina consists of spontaneous, correlated bursts originating from neighbouring retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), resulting in propagating waves. It is well established that the properties of retinal waves change during the course of development as the retinal network slowly assembles. Through computational modelling, we have recently found that early-stage waves (around P5 in the mouse), which depend on cholinergic synaptic transmission, reflect a very specific network state that maximises the variability of the activity patterns. I will present new recordings of mouse retinal waves at near-cellular resolution with a 4,096-channel multielectrode array, which confirm the predicted high variability of early-stage waves, and also reveal relatively low RGC recruitment. The recordings also show that waves become slower and smaller when GABAergic signalling matures (P6-7). Glutamatergic waves (P10 onwards), in contrast, are denser and begin to show repetitive trajectories confined to few localized hotspots that gradually tile the retina. Finally, I will show that some key properties of early-stage waves are under homeostatic control, but not after GABAergic signalling has matured. Taken together, these findings suggest that the role of retinal waves may change over development. Early-stage waves are very robust and appear well suited to signal broad topographic order and drive eye-specific segregation in RGC target areas, while late-stage waves appear to activate neurons in a more compact and localised manner.