Unreal Engine is taking a step closer to being a development shop.
Epic Games seems determined to give developers all they need to play in Unreal Engine without having to find parts elsewhere. The company has purchased a 3D asset platform, Sketchfab.
“Epic and Sketchfab, together, can make 3D, AR, and VR content more accessible and develop the creator ecosystem that is essential for an open and interconnected Metaverse,” Epic wrote in a blog post. “Sketchfab will continue to operate autonomously, while working closely with the team of Unreal Engine.”
More than 4 million 3D assets are held in Sketchfab. On the platform, users can edit, buy and sell content. Epic lowered the Sketchfab shopping charges to 12 percent (which corresponds to the Epic Games Store), so that people who make 3D assets receive a large part of their sales revenue. Epic also says that Sketchfab will maintain integrations with 3D platforms for creation and publishing. The assets will continue to work elsewhere, including in rival motors like Unity.
Now everybody has free use of the Sketchfab Plus plan, which enables users to upload more assets with larger file sizes. Current Plus subscribers are bumped into the Pro plan without any additional cost and Sketchfab raises the monthly upload limit on the Pro tier from 30 to 50.
The Sketchfab agreement follows the acquisition of ArtStation by Epic, a hub where CGI and game-oriented artists can accommodate and sell their portfolios. Epic also slashed the marketplace fees from 30 to 12%.
Latest: November 2024
