What happens to a museum's 3D collection when the free commercial platform hosting it changes hands? The final report of the UK Heritage 3D Data at Risk (H3DAR) project, written by 3D heritage specialist Thomas Flynn, sets out the risks for the UK cultural heritage sector and a roadmap for securing its 3D data for the long term.
UK cultural heritage organisations have published more than 11,000 3D models on Sketchfab, which has become the sector's de facto platform for sharing 3D heritage online. Since its acquisition by Epic Games in 2021 and the planned move to Epic's Fab marketplace, many institutions have been left wondering what will happen to their content. The H3DAR project, Developing a Strategy for Long Term Access & Storage, was set up to answer that question. It was supported by Wikimedia UK and funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Over eight months, the project engaged 88 UK heritage organisations through a survey, 27 hours of stakeholder interviews, seven expert interviews and three participatory events. Among its findings:
The report concludes that Sketchfab's transition has made a pre-existing structural problem visible rather than caused it. It recommends acting now to raise awareness and back up existing data, investing in people and standards, making better use of existing UK repositories such as the Archaeology Data Service and the Heritage Science Data Service, developing non-commercial infrastructure for public-facing 3D display, and funding all of this as sustained infrastructure rather than one-off projects. The report also notes that Epic Games announced the sale of Sketchfab to KitBash on 10 August 2026, shortly before it was finalised, which in the author's view makes these recommendations more urgent.
The report also looks beyond the UK, citing European initiatives such as the European Collaborative Cloud for Cultural Heritage, 3DBigDataSpace, Twin it!, EUreka3D and 3D-4CH as examples of countries working together on these issues.
Thomas Flynn is an independent consultant specialising in 3D for cultural heritage. For many years he was Cultural Heritage Lead at Sketchfab, a role he continued after the Epic Games acquisition until he left at the end of 2023. Before that, he co-founded Museum in a Box and worked on 3D and digital design at the British Museum. He is a Visiting Fellow at Bournemouth University, co-chairs the IIIF 3D Community Group and sits on the advisory board of the Rijksmuseum's 2+3D Photography conference. His 2024 community document reacting to the Sketchfab-to-Fab announcement was the starting point for the H3DAR project.
