Unreal Engine Marketplace is one of the biggest and most beautiful places to make money in the CG industry. The publisher will receive 88% of the base price for every sale. Epic retains only 12% of the net sale amount of every product sold through the Marketplace. Unreal Marketplace has strong moderation and you can upload your completed model or asset on other marketplaces such as Cgtrader, Turbosquid and Artstation.
1. Creation of Marketplace Seller account.
Open Launcher – Unreal Engine – Marketplace – Submit content. Or go to https://publish.unrealengine.com/v2/welcome and create your account. The verification process may take up to several days so I recommend you to start right now.
2. Choosing your first model for creation on the Marketplace.
Unreal Engine Marketplace has strong moderation and I recommend you start with something simple. For me, this is props sets – Weapons, Military, Space.
But you should know – most money you can earn with characters, animals, cars and other complicated stuff. Unfortunately, Unreal Marketplace does not have any statistics and recommendations for best-selling, so I recommend these 2 topics from Cgtrader. I believe the recommendation is the same for all Marketplaces
https://www.cgtrader.com/blog/infographic-exclusive-data-on-how-to-sell-3d-models
https://www.cgtrader.com/blog/infographic-best-selling-3d-models-and-practices
Minimum Content Requirements for Props
Realistic: At least 10 unique assets.
Low Poly/Simple/Stylized: Approximately 50 to 150+ unique assets depending on the complexity.
Vehicle Static Meshes: At least 5 unique vehicle meshes that include an interior and exterior.
Vehicle Skeletal Mesh (no Blueprints): At least 1 high quality vehicle skeletal mesh with both an interior and exterior that is correctly rigged.
Photo-scanned Statues: At least 5 unique high quality scans.
General Content Requirements https://marketplacehelp.epicgames.com/s/seller-guide/minimum-content-and-requirements?language=en_US
3. Creating your models
I recommend creating stuff using additional 3D software. For me it is 3ds max ( + Zbrush, Substance Painter), I use DataSmith plugin for directly importing into Unreal Engine with the correct materials, UV’s and correct folders after importing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37zLuV3WdZo
4. Importing your model into Unreal Engine
All content products must be uploaded as an Unreal Engine project that contains the .uproject file, Content, and Config folders. The Content folder should only contain one folder that is named after your product (the Pack folder) and it should contain all other folders and assets.
├── Config
├── Content
│ └── MyProject
├── MyProject.uproject
Asset Naming Conventions and Asset Prefixes inside UE –
HDRI HDR_
Material M_
Material Instance MI_
Post Process Material PPM_
Skeletal Mesh SK_
Static Mesh SM_
Texture T_
Blueprint BP_
Niagara Emitter FXE_ NE_
Niagara System FXS_ NS_
Niagara Function FXF_
The pivot point should be on the center of the model for spherical objects (like asteroids, ets) and should be placed for smooth assembly and they should snap together cleanly (left down corner for walls, ets).
All Technical Requirements:
- Meshes have proper collision where applicable.
- Auto-generated collision is required on all props where collision makes sense. Collision is not required on very small props, background assets, and small foliage, etc.
- No overlapping Lightmap UVs.
- Static meshes appear relatively scaled as intended and all face the same directional vector.
Overview Map.
All products that have a visual component should contain an Overview Map that has all products laid out. The below categories must include an Overview Map:
- 2D Assets (if the product contains functioning UI elements or animated sprites).
- Animations.
- Architectural Visualization.
- Characters.
- Environments.
- Materials.
- Props
- Textures (if the product contains materials, functioning UI elements, or animated sprites).
- Visual Effects.
- Weapons.
When your UE project is ready, you should –
1. Disable all plugins (including Datasmith and Modeling Tools Editor Mode).
2. Fix Redirectors (right-click the Content folder and choose “Fix Up Redirectors”).
5. Submitting your first product to the Marketplace Seller Portal
When your project is completed you need to remove all unused folders (keep only Config, Content, and .uproject file) and make a zip (or other type) archive.
Then upload archive to Google drive (or other file storage). Then go to the Marketplace Seller Portal and press the blue “ADD PRODUCT” button on the right top corner. Then upload Product Image Media (you can create screenshots from UE or make nice renders from 3ds max / Maya / Blender), write product information, description, title, price, tags and go down. In “Product files” tub press “create new version” button and paste the link from Google drive on your archive. Complete all forms and press “submit for approval”. You’ll get a notification in your mail.
The Review Process has 3 positions:
1.Changes Needed
During review, especially for your first several products, it’s not uncommon to be asked to make changes. When Epic do this, you should receive a copy of Technical Review Checklist (TRC) with explicit instructions on what changes need to be made on your mail. If you have any questions, please feel free to write back to your reviewer for clarification.
Once you have made the requested changes, update the download link on the product page and set the product back to Pending Approval. This will notify the Marketplace Team and they will continue your product review. The most common mistakes and how to fix them are shown in the video tutorial below.
2. Declined
A product could be declined for a number of reasons. If you have a product declined at any point, you will receive an email message that explains the reason/s it was declined. If you have any questions or require clarification, please feel free to write back to your reviewer.
The most common reasons that products are declined on the Marketplace are:
- Not enough content – See the “Category Minimum Content & Requirements” section above.
- Not high enough quality – See the “What sort of Content and Quality do we expect?” section above.
- Incorrect file format – See the “Project Format” section above.
- Download link either requires permissions or doesn’t work – See the “Project Format” section above.
3. Approved
Once your product is approved, you are almost ready to publish!
Example of Technical Review Checklist
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Q8z19RDenYvj8gyGmNjZ-evGC5IE5nB0/view?usp=sharing
6. When am I getting paid?
So long as the total amount due to you is at least $100 USD at the end of the calendar month, payouts are issued within 30 days after the end of the calendar month. For example, revenue from sales that occurred during the month of March (March 1st through March 31st) will be paid out on or before April 30th.
Payouts will be processed through Hyperwallet and sellers may choose one of two methods for monthly payouts: US dollar wire transfers to bank accounts or electronic fund transfers to PayPal accounts. Payout methods may vary per country.
Refunds will be deducted from your next payout. Although Epic will always notify you of refund requests, refunds can be processed without a publisher’s consent if it’s discovered that the product does not meet the guidelines, or if Epic has determined that the publisher does not intend to remedy the relevant issues in a timely manner.
Epic retains 12% of the net sale amount of every product sold through the Marketplace.
