{"id":5016,"date":"2024-10-29T19:54:05","date_gmt":"2024-10-29T19:54:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/toshareproject.it\/artmakerblog\/?p=5016"},"modified":"2024-10-29T19:54:05","modified_gmt":"2024-10-29T19:54:05","slug":"sketchfab-panic-in-fab-land","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toshareproject.it\/artmakerblog\/sketchfab-panic-in-fab-land\/","title":{"rendered":"Sketchfab panic in fab-land"},"content":{"rendered":"

https:\/\/www.404media.co\/email\/c98f7ffc-8a7a-4244-99e6-ef97b080402e\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Archivists Say Fortnite Developer Threatens ‘Cultural Heritage’
\nBy Emanuel Maiberg \u2022 28 Oct 2024<\/p>\n

For years, scientists, artists, archivists, and museums have relied on Sketchfab as a way to share 3D models for free for research, education, and preservation. It works much like the 3D model sharing platforms that game developers use, and Sketchfab has plenty of video game assets as well, but it has always made it easy to share models with non-commercial licenses. Now, under ownership of Fortnite and Unreal Engine developer Epic Games, Sketchfab users are being pushed into a new, consolidated 3D model marketplace called Fab, and they worry that the thousands of 3D models they\u2019ve shared over the years are at risk. I talked to a number of these users for this story and why they are worried, despite Epic Games\u2019 promises.<\/p>\n

Scientists, artists, and archivists are panicking about Epic Games\u2019 deprecating of Sketchfab, the internet\u2019s leading repository for open access 3D models, saying that the uncertain future of the platform under Epic Games\u2019 ownership could break or limit access to hundreds of thousands of free 3D models, severely impacting their role in education, research, and conservation. <\/p>\n

\u201cSince its inception, Sketchfab.com, a 3D model-sharing website, has served the invaluable function of hosting and showcasing the vast digitized collections and portfolios of many museums, universities, and artists across the world,\u201d a petition to \u201ckeep Sketchfab alive,\u201d says. \u201cUnfortunately, their new owners, Epic Games, intend to destroy it […] This is the virtual equivalent of burning the Library of Alexandria.\u201d<\/p>\n

“We have no intention of burning any libraries,\u201d Epic’s vice president and general manager for creator marketplaces Bill Clifford told GamesIndustry.biz. \u201cChange is tough and we’ve tried to be extremely clear and concise in our communications, and I think sometimes it’s easily misinterpreted, especially as you go deeper and deeper into Reddit threads.\u201d <\/p>\n

Most people today probably know Epic Games as the developer of Fortnite, but it also makes the incredibly popular Unreal Engine, and runs the Unreal Engine Marketplace, where users can buy and sell 3D models. In recent years Epic Games has consolidated a lot of the competition in this space, acquiring Quixel in 2019, and ArtStation and Sketchfab in 2021. This month, Epic Games started collapsing all these separate markets into a single new marketplace for 3D assets called Fab. <\/p>\n

Sketchfab is no longer accepting new seller applications, and has invited existing Sketchfab creators to migrate their models to Fab, which launched last week. Epic Games has also not made clear what the plan for free and open access 3D models on Sketchfab is after 2025, but it says that it will provide those users an alternative solution eventually and plenty of notice on how that transition will work. <\/p>\n

The Sketchfab users I talked to have a variety of specific concerns about this transition, but ultimately they are all worried that Fab is a marketplace designed for Epic Games to make a profit on sales, whereas Sketchfab prioritized open access and the ability to share 3D models for free. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe will continue to support the scientific community, along with anyone else who uses Sketchfab to share free and view-only content including artists, hobbyists, educational institutions, the cultural heritage community and more,\u201d Epic Games spokesperson Jake Jones told 404 Media in an email. \u201cWe will not remove the ability to share or download content on Sketchfab until we have a viable alternative.\u201d…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

https:\/\/www.404media.co\/email\/c98f7ffc-8a7a-4244-99e6-ef97b080402e\/ Archivists Say Fortnite Developer Threatens ‘Cultural Heritage’ By Emanuel Maiberg \u2022 28 Oct 2024 For years, scientists, artists, archivists, and museums have relied on Sketchfab as a way to share 3D models for free for research, education, and preservation. It works much like the 3D model sharing platforms that game developers use, and Sketchfab […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorised"],"yoast_head":"\nSketchfab panic in fab-land | Artmaker Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sketchfab panic in fab-land | Artmaker Blog\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/toshareproject.it\/artmakerblog\/sketchfab-panic-in-fab-land\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sketchfab panic in fab-land | Artmaker Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sketchfab panic in fab-land | Artmaker Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/toshareproject.it\/artmakerblog\/sketchfab-panic-in-fab-land\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Artmaker Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-10-29T19:54:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Bruce Sterling\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/toshareproject.it\/artmakerblog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/toshareproject.it\/artmakerblog\/\",\"name\":\"Artmaker Blog\",\"description\":\"on Toshareproject.it - 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