In September 2024, Epic Games announced the planned closure of Sketchfab, a platform for sharing 3D models and animations that, at its founding, was described as "the Youtube for 3D models." Perhaps because of its popularity, ease of use, and free and reduced rates for academics, Sketchfab had become the home for 3D repositories of many cultural heritage institutions (like the British Museum) to individual scholars such as this archaeologist. It was also used for pedagogical purposes by the likes of Duke's own Digital Art History & Visual Culture Research Lab.

With Sketchfab's closure, Epic Games announced the launch of Fab, a new marketplace dedicated explicitly to the buying and selling of 3D models. With this move, Epic largely excluded the cultural heritage and digital humanities communities from Fab. Not only would it be impossible to make models freely available on Sketchfab, but Fab would accept only CC-BY licenses, meaning that models could no longer be licensed "share-alike" or "non-commercial." Fab's migration documentation does not mention CC0 (public domain) licenses.

What does it mean that scholars and cultural heritage institutions were relying on a proprietary platform as a repository? What does Sketchfab's closure mean for those who seek to create and share digital 3D content freely and non-commercially? In this M&M, we'll look in more detail at Epic Games' decision to close Sketchfab, at alternatives that have been proposed, such as Morphosource at Duke, and at the broader ramifications of Epic Games' decisions.

Optional background readings:

• “‘Fab’ Content Marketplace Launches in October; Publishing Portal Opens Today.” n.d. Unreal Engine. Accessed March 21, 2025. https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/blog/fab-content-marketplace-launches-in-october-publishing-portal-opens-today.
• "Thoughts on Sketchfab to Fab migration announcement, September 2024." https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GhJ6KUPa5MBgdgAZmB8YrKhPvl7iLESKfG2ArkdvXYA/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.fhg4oioqatn -- a document created and maintained by the former head of the Cultural Heritage section of Sketchfab.
• Maiberg, Emanuel. 2024. “Scientists and Archivists Worry Epic Games’ Control of the 3D Model Market Will ‘Destroy’ Cultural Heritage.” 404 Media. October 28, 2024. https://www.404media.co/scientists-and-archivists-worry-epic-games-control-of-the-3d-model-market-will-destroy-cultural-heritage/.
• Papadopoulos, Costas, Kelly Gillikin Schoueri, and Susan Schreibman. 2025. "And Now What? Three-Dimensional Scholarship and Infrastructures in the Post-Sketchfab Era" Heritage 8, no. 3: 99. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage8030099