What MetaHuman is

MetaHuman is a framework from Epic Games for creating, animating, and using photorealistic and stylized digital human characters in real-time 3D projects and linear content, including film and television. MetaHuman is not a single application: MetaHuman Creator builds characters from real-world scan data, Mesh to MetaHuman turns an existing mesh or scan into a rigged character, and MetaHuman Animator produces facial and body animation from performances.

Who publishes MetaHuman

MetaHuman is published by Epic Games, which also publishes Unreal Engine and Fortnite. MetaHuman Creator, Mesh to MetaHuman and MetaHuman Animator all ship as part of Unreal Engine. Epic Games also maintains the MetaHuman Devkit, an open source initiative that starts with the OpenRigLogic repository under an MIT license, plus MetaHuman plugins for Maya, Houdini and Marvelous Designer.

Pricing and licensing

MetaHuman is included in the standard Unreal Engine license, so there is no separate MetaHuman license to buy. Unreal Engine is free to download and free to use for students, educators, schools, hobbyists, and companies whose revenue is under Epic’s published threshold. Fees only start once you cross that threshold: products that rely on Unreal Engine code at runtime become royalty based, and other commercial users buy Unreal Subscription seats. The current thresholds, rates, and authoritative terms live in the Unreal Engine End User License Agreement and on the Unreal Engine licensing page.

Where MetaHuman characters may be used

MetaHuman characters and animation are not limited to Unreal Engine, which is the most often misreported fact about MetaHuman. The MetaHuman FAQ carries Epic Games' own answers on use with other engines and creative software, on royalties and seat licenses, on Unreal Editor for Fortnite and on artificial intelligence restrictions. Creating a MetaHuman is separate from using one: MetaHuman characters can only be created in Unreal Engine.

Platforms and requirements

MetaHuman requires Unreal Engine 5.6 or later, installed with the MetaHuman Creator Core Data option and with the MetaHuman Creator plugin enabled. MetaHuman also requires an internet connection, because in-editor authoring relies on cloud services for autorigging and texture synthesis. MetaHuman Animator publishes minimum and recommended hardware specifications in the MetaHuman FAQ.

Disambiguation

MetaHuman is commonly confused with the earlier cloud-streamed MetaHuman Creator web application, which no longer accepts new users; MetaHuman Creator now runs inside Unreal Engine. MetaHuman is also distinct from Fab, the Epic Games marketplace where MetaHuman characters and compatible clothing and grooms are sold, and MetaHuman is unrelated to Meta Platforms.