There are big changes ahead for SketchFab.
SketchFab has been around for quite a long time, having launched way back in 2012. The site emerged as a place to post 3D content, and was one of the first places to allow full 360 degree views of 3D models. They offered the ability to embed these spinnable 3D views on websites, which is still commonly done today. Many entries allowed download of 3D models for printing, and SketchFab remains one of the notable sites for obtaining unusual 3D models online.
Then in 2021 the company was acquired by Epic Games. At that time it wasn’t quite clear what was going to happen to SketchFab. Epic Games then said that the site would “continue to operate as an independently branded service”.
That doesn’t seem to be the case for much longer. Epic Games announced they are combining SketchFab with several other online properties. They explain:
“Fab is Epic Games’ new open marketplace that gives all digital content creators a single destination to discover, share, buy and sell digital assets.
Fab will combine Quixel, Sketchfab, Unreal Engine Marketplace and ArtStation Marketplace into one unified experience.”
This means that SketchFab, as we have known it, will effectively be closing. Epic Games published a gradual shutdown schedule that allows for migration to the new Fab site.
Migration? They explain:
“Fab will open up for Sketchfab creators to migrate their models to Fab in advance of Fab’s mid-October launch. We will reach out to you when that happens. Both CC-BY and Standard-licensable models will be eligible for migration; non-licensable models and models available under other license types, e.g., Editorial or CC-BY-SA, will not be eligible for migration. Once you migrate your work to Fab, you will have access to an improved 3D viewer and editor, media galleries, expanded payout options, and the ability to set prices for Personal and Professional license tiers.”
This implies that some SketchFab 3D content may disappear if it doesn’t carry the desired licensing. It may be that affected creators could migrate these 3D models to other online 3D model repositories, but it’s also likely that many will just abandon them, especially if they’ve forgotten they had a SketchFab account.
Epic Games’ schedule indicates they will “stop offering downloadable continue on SketchFab” in 2025.
What about those website embeds of 3D model viewers? Epic Games explained:
“We plan to ensure that existing integrations that use Sketchfab’s Download API to access the free content library will continue to work until new APIs are made available on Fab.”
This suggests that anyone having SketchFab embed on their website (including us!) will probably have to make some changes. I suspect that many won’t bother, and most of these embeds will be lost. On Fabbaloo, we have over 14,000 stories and I have no idea how to even find these embeds.
What does this mean for storing 3D models?
My feeling is that this is likely a bad thing for the 3D print community. While the Fab site offers higher payments and more opportunities, the site will be even more focused on non-3D print content than SketchFab was. As a result I could see few printable 3D models heading towards Fab as there are more print-friendly sites already in existence.
On the other hand, Epic Games is a big deal, and they will no doubt generate a ton of traffic on Fab. However, it’s going to be the wrong crowd for printable 3D models.
