Since 2014, Epic Games’ Unreal Engine Marketplace served as the go-to spot for those looking to buy and sell digital products. Recently, Epic closed that online store, replacing it with a new marketplace that supports all types of content for use across not just Unreal Engine, but also Unity 3D and UEFN, as well as integrations with other digital content creation tools.
For a decade, those seeking Epic Unreal Engine-compatible assets and tools headed to Unreal Engine Marketplace, where they could buy and sell those types of digital products. Alas, no more. However, as Alexander Graham Bell once said, “When one door closes, another opens.” And the door that just opened for these UE asset buyers and sellers is Fab, a unified digital marketplace that Epic touts as a one-stop destination for all things Unreal and more.
Fab was announced at GDC 2023 and officially launched in mid-October 2024. This much larger online destination is built to serve all digital creators across various industries, not just gaming. Fab is not just a successor to Unreal Engine Marketplace, but also to Sketchfab Store, ArtStation Marketplace, and Quixel.com. Fab still provides creators with an opportunity to buy, sell, and share assets. But unlike UE Marketplace, which was for UE-conformant offerings only, Fab caters to a wider audience, offering content that is compatible with various game engines, including Unreal Engine as well as Unity. Epic says there are even more options to come.
“We’re building a marketplace that serves the entire digital content creation industry, a place where you can find exactly what you need for any of your digital projects, Epic stated.
Marketplaces such as Fab offer vast content libraries that can be licensed for use in games or other projects, opening doors for small teams and indie developers with smaller budgets. Epic predicts this trend will grow, particularly as creators of experiences across Fortnite, Roblox, Minecraft, and other 3D worlds look to these marketplaces as sources of metaverse content.
Unreal Engine developers will be able to access Fab directly in the Unreal Engine 5 Editor in the near future, and Fortnite creators will be able to find Fortnite-ready assets through Fab in UEFN, a feature that will be back online shortly, Epic says.
Fab offers a wide range of high-quality, real-time-ready game assets, environments, VFX, audio, animations, characters, plug-ins and more. During the coming months and beyond, Epic says it will be adding and fine-tuning the site’s features, offering support for new product types and developing integrations with various DCC tools including Blender, Autodesk Maya, Maxon Cinema 4D, and Adobe Substance 3D. As Fab continues to develop, Epic says it plans to introduce new file formats including Minecraft and Roblox assets, access to MetaHumans, a new ratings and review system, product FAQs, and new analytics to enhance the publisher experience.
Meanwhile, Fab is the new home of Quixel’s Megascans, high-quality 3D and 2D scanned assets for games as well as visual effects, architectural visualizations, and more. Epic announced that Megascans are free on Fab through the end of 2024. Also, Fab publishers will earn 100% revenue share on sales of Fab Standard-licensed products through the end of the year. Fabulous.
For revenue-seeking creators, they will earn an 88% revenue share for selling/licensing their assets on Fab. Prior to launch, UE Marketplace creators were given the opportunity to migrate their products to Fab via the Fab Publishing Portal. Afterward, new publishers were able to sign up and begin uploading their content. The Sketchfab community will be able to move their licensable content via a migration tool over the coming months, while ArtStation Marketplace will continue operating as usual for now, with plans to enable creators to move their products to Fab in 2025.
