Epic Games has bought 3D asset marketplace Sketchfab for an undisclosed sum. The Unreal Engine company has been quick to point out in a blog post that, "Sketchfab will continue to operate as an independently branded service while collaborating closely with the Unreal Engine team. This includes wholeheartedly supporting Unity and other engines."

The intent behind this acquisition is to make 3D, AR and VR content more accessible and grow the creator ecosystem, both critical to an open and interconnected Metaverse. Sketchfab’s store fees will be reduced to 12%.

“The Sketchfab team has done an incredible job opening up the world of 3D content on the web and enabling anyone to edit and publish content online,” said Marc Petit, VP and general manager of Unreal Engine. “As the adoption of real-time 3D technology continues to grow, demand for web-based solutions will only increase. We are excited to work together with the Sketchfab team to empower even more creators."

Sketchfab launched nearly 10 years ago to make 3D content accessible through the web, released the first web-based 3D player on the market, and became one of the leading services for publishing and finding 3D content, now utilised by more than 5 million developers.

Alban Denoyel, CEO and co-founder of Sketchfab said, “We built Sketchfab with a mission to empower a new era of creativity and provide a service for creators to showcase their work online and make 3D content accessible. Joining Epic will enable us to accelerate the development of Sketchfab and our powerful online toolset, all while providing an even greater experience for creators. We are proud to work alongside Epic to build the Metaverse and enable creators to take their work even further.”