MetaHuman Creator Web Application is being Discontinued

General Announcements
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An important update for MetaHuman Creator web application users

Now that we have fully integrated MetaHuman creation into Unreal Engine, we’ll soon begin the process of discontinuing the MetaHuman Creator (MHC) web application. This will happen over the course of 2026, giving users plenty of time to migrate their MetaHumans to MHC in Unreal Engine.

We launched MetaHuman almost five years ago with the release of the MetaHuman Creator web application, offering anyone an easy way to create highly realistic digital humans. With millions of MetaHumans created, the MetaHuman Creator web application established a new standard for digital characters across games, film, and other digital experiences.

In June 2025, we released MHC in Unreal Engine as part of UE 5.6, marking the next phase in the development of MetaHuman. Our goal is to ensure a straightforward path to create and manage your MetaHumans directly within Unreal Engine.

The recent UE 5.7 release delivered even more functionality that takes MetaHuman capture, creation, and animation further in Unreal Engine.

Therefore, access to the MetaHuman Creator web application will terminate on November 5, 2026.

As of UE 5.6, the MetaHuman Creator web application was frozen at UE 5.5 and new users were unable to sign up for early access, instead being directed to MHC in UE.

The web application will be decommissioned in stages and provide users with ample time to retrieve any MetaHumans they have created. The timetable for this is as follows:

  • April 5, 2026: We will remove access to MetaHuman Creator version selection for UE versions 4.27, 5.0, and 5.1. After this date, you will not be able to start sessions in these versions, but you will be able to continue to export characters through Bridge.

  • June 5, 2026: We will remove access to MetaHuman Creator version selection for UE versions 5.2, 5.3, and 5.4. After this date, you will not be able to start sessions in these versions but you can still export characters through Bridge.

  • November 5, 2026: We will remove access to MetaHuman Creator version selection for UE version 5.5 and with that close all access to MetaHuman Creator web application. You will have a further 90 days to retrieve any MetaHumans in your gallery. Once this 90-day window passes, you will no longer be able to download MetaHuman using Quixel Bridge or the MetaHuman Importer in UEFN.

Safeguarding Your Assets

If you no longer need the MetaHumans in your gallery, you do not need to take any further action.

Otherwise, you should do one of the following:

  • If you simply wish to retain your MetaHuman to use in UE, please export them into the appropriate version of Unreal Engine using Quixel Bridge.

  • If you want to continue authoring your MetaHumans, first upgrade them to UE 5.5 using the MetaHuman Creator Web Application and then migrate them into MHC in UE following these steps.

If you miss the final shutdown deadline on 5 November 2026, we provide a 90-day retrieval window for accessing your account data via Quixel Bridge. After this time, any remaining MetaHumans associated with your account will be deleted.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I do now as an existing user of MetaHuman Creator?

To continue authoring your MetaHumans you must first migrate them to MetaHuman Creator in Unreal Engine 5.6+. This can be done by following the migration guide. MetaHumans can only be migrated from the UE5.5 version selection of the MetaHuman Creator Web Application, MetaHumans from previous versions must first be upgraded.

Please Note: MetaHumans created in UE4.27 cannot be upgraded or migrated.

What if my game needs pre 5.6 MetaHumans?

You can continue to use MetaHumans that have already been exported into Unreal Engine.To continue authoring your MetaHumans, you must upgrade to UE5.6+.

Can I continue to use MetaHuman Animator in the MetaHuman Plugin for pre 5.6 Unreal Engine?

Once the MetaHuman Creator Web Application has been completely retired, you will no longer be able to use the Auto-Rig Identity (Skeletal Mesh + Full MetaHuman) feature of MetaHuman Animator in the MetaHuman Plugin available on UE Marketplace/Fab for UE 5.2-5.5. You will be able to continue to use Auto-Rig Identity (Skeletal Mesh Only) feature.

legacy metahumans are missing when upgrading
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Any plan for adding more clothing or a cloth editor maybe? Only thing I’m missing.

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So like after the deadlines if you need pre 5.6 metahumans just downgrade them with my plugin : Asset Downgrader

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Are there any plans to update the material instance parameters to include the same options MH had in earlier Engine versions? The latest UE version has the materials locked in, and do not allow users to make adjustments other than on a global scale which is problematic when face materials for example need to be tweaked. One example would be to adjust the roughness, or to change the lipstick color.

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Hi there So after reading everything I’m a little confused. I understand that the web application is going away, I also understand that The metahuman Creator itself is already integrated into Unreal Engine, that much I get.. after downloading the metahumans and backing them up on our computers in a project, what if we use a different engine version? Like let’s say we downloaded them for 5.6 and then we want to use them for 5.7 or maybe 5.8 or whatever Then how do we upgrade them? And also can they still be modified and edited if they’re already downloaded while using the metahuman Creator already built into Unreal Engine?

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@dogankurt We plan to release the remaining legacy clothing in the near future. In the meantime, there are lots of MetaHuman clothing items available on FAB.

@Feeding_Wolves I have asked the team on this one.

@majesticcreationsdev To continue authoring your MetaHumans, you will need to migrate them to MetaHuman Creator in Unreal Engine 5.6+, following the migration guide. Once migrated the MetaHumans are forward compatible in newer Unreal Engine versions.

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I am wondering if just downloading them on the quixel bridge standalone and saving the dna file and textures might also work. I believe the dna files would work with every engine version 5.2 or later, but not sure.

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Question regarding the assets that will be erased from this system…
Are yall consuming this data to train a model?

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If I export/download the .mhb file (ex: MainCharacter.mhb), will that be enough to save the creation to use at a later date (potentially MUCH later)? My current PC can’t handle unreal/metahuman, and I won’t be able to upgrade until next year. I really don’t want to lose the characters I’ve made.

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@Feeding_Wolves This may not work in all cases, but, yes it is an alternative that could be used for the face, then reconstruct / adjust the body with the new body controls for example. This does not give the full MetaHuman, like for like, as the full migration route does however. It could also be used in conjunction with MetaHuman for Maya DNA Upgrade Tool. It is also worth noting that using the dna in this way can only be used to conform to get the same face shape, the skeletal mesh will be recreated with the UE5.6+ tech stack.

@itylergarrett This data is not (and has never been) used to train any models.

@Daburcor1 The .mhb is not sufficient, however you could use the option suggested by @Feeding_Wolves above using the Import DNA conform tools functionality after you have exported the dna file using standalone bridge.

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i use metatailor its so good

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Hey,

There are pretty significant changes here from Cloud to UEMHC. A lot of stuff that was a param in the material and subsequently changed via the instance is now exposed in MHC editor and then baked into the textures on assembly as an optimisation step.
It is still possible to change the lipstick colour, or access the spec/roughness maps but there are differences between CloudMHC and UEMHC as detailed below:

Lipstick colour:

  • In Cloud MHC these were material params which could be changed in the Material Instance once downloaded and imported into UE via Bridge.

  • In UEMCH, lipstick colour is set in MHC and is then baked into the baseColor textures during assembly as an optimisation step.

TLDR; Can I change the lipstick colour? Yes, but now this happens in MHC editor, not on the material instance after assembly.

Editing spec/roughness maps referenced by the material instance:

  • In Cloud MHC the texture was \MetaHumans\\Face\Face_Roughness_MAIN

  • In UEMHC it’s basically the same, but named/located here: \MetaHumans\\Face\Baked\T_Head_SRMF (and also utilises the Alpha channel for fake fuzz, which it didn’t before). Exporting that out as .png to modify spec/rough (R and B channels respectively) is still possible.

TLDR; Can I change the spec/roughness maps? Yes, just like before but the texture name has changed between versions, so maybe it’s less obvious which is the correct map.

Hope this is helpful :slight_smile:

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Question:
I have old metahumans but no real use for them, was mostly learning and experimenting a little so it wouldn’t be a hard to lose them. Would I be able to use the same photos from my old Iphone to recreate them in newer in engine version? If not, then I’d download. My friends and kids who modeled are always aging, so that “version” of them is what I hope to preserve.

Thank you for info.

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Hey there,

since I’d like to continue authoring my MetaHumans into MHC in UE, I’ve followed the Migration Guide and chosen the “Import and Migrate” option, so I could also migrate grooms and clothing to the new MetaHuman Character asset. The tutorial says “Clothing will need to be assigned manually by importing it into the asset”, but I’ve not found a way to do this (maybe I’m missing something?). You said also that you “plan to release the remaining legacy clothing in the near future”.
At this point I wonder if clothing created with the online version of MHC are actually applicable and modifiable in the MetaHuman Character type object or if we should wait to be able to migrate them properly.

Thanks for any reply.

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@GreenalinaFeFiFo At present you are unable to recreate the MetaHumans from a photo. If you have the original footage or meshes that were used to construct the MetaHuman, you can use these in MetaHuman Animator in UE5.6+. If the MetaHumans are precious to you, it will be best to use the migration guide suggested however.

@Lorenzo_V90 Yes, the legacy clothing assets will be released soon on FAB. Alternatively you can drag the skeletal meshes of the clothing assets that are imported / migrated (use the asset filter to find them in the content browser) into the skeletal clothing section of the hair and clothing tools. You may need to disable wardrobe validation to allow you to wear the items.

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I’ve been trying to download the standalone bridge app, but every link just takes me back to Quixel’s home page. Do you (or does anybody else) have a direct download link?

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If you navigate to Megascans > MetaHumans there is a download link for Bridge.

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Thank you so much! I can’t begin to tell you how grateful I am.

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Wow… Epic just keeps forsaking legacy devs of UE4 by the year… Its soon about to be completely (officially) eradicated just like UE3 before it. Their community is already being dissed and neglected after all (since that pre-compiled build botch ordeal a few years ago).

Its a good thing I don’t use this once legendary, now-disgraced terrible engine franchise anymore (besides 4.27 for personal use).

Might as well retrieve what few MetaHumans I cared to make while the service lasts.
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EDIT [3/15/26]: I stand corrected! Seems I cannot even recover my UE4 characters…. According to the OP of this thread, UE4.27 versions cannot be migrated or upgraded.

Fantastic job Epic! All of my old ‘humans’ are now doomed to extinction.

Fortunately for me, I stopped caring. I deleted them all. I doubt I’ll ever be creating or working on realistic games anymore anyway at this rate. Even if I ever do, there are much better options now than MetaHumans.

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@OnyeNacho You are able to continue downloading your UE4.27 MetaHumans into UE4.27 projects until the final deadline.

If you did want to continue authoring them in the future you can do as @Feeding_Wolves suggested earlier by using conform > import dna in UE5.6+. If your UE4.27 MetaHumans were created before MetaHuman 1.0.0 was released (June 2022), they will have been duplicated as a UE5 MetaHuman too.