OpenUSD is rapidly becoming one of the most efficient solutions for building and managing data within studio pipelines. While Unreal Engine supports exporting data in USD format, its native implementation has certain performance limitations that require customization to fit into a pipeline.
In this session recorded at Unreal Fest Orlando 2025, Jonghwan Hwang of Sony Pictures Imageworks demonstrates a high-level concept for integrating Unreal Engine into a studio pipeline using OpenUSD. This includes basic USD export from Unreal Engine with Python, developing scripts to parse assets into USD layers, and adding patch scripts for refining USD data to meet specific pipeline requirements.
Through a case study of a simple film Unreal Engine scene structure, the session showcases how these optimizations enable more effective data exchange between Unreal Engine and other DCC tools.
Learn more about Unreal Engine here: unrealengine.com
https://dev.epicgames.com/community/learning/talks-and-demos/EWz7/optimizing-unreal-engine-s-openusd-workflow-with-python-unreal-fest-orlando-2025