Download and Export Settings for MetaHumans (Legacy) | MetaHuman Documentation

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To export MetaHumans to Unreal Engine 4, you must first configure download and export settings in the Quixel Bridge standalone application. It is critical that you configure these settings correctly, otherwise your MetaHumans might not function correctly in Unreal Engine.

This page covers a legacy MetaHumans workflow. This workflow is only supported in Unreal Engine 4, for projects that contain MetaHumans created with the original MetaHuman Creator. For an equivalent workflow that uses current MetaHumans and Unreal Engine 5, refer to the Downloading and Exporting MetaHumans section.

These settings apply to all Quixel Assets. Some settings and options are not available to MetaHumans even if they are visible and selectable.

Required Setup

Before you can follow the steps on this page, you must do the following:

Download and install the Quixel Bridge standalone app. The app is available for Windows and macOS.
Sign in to Quixel Bridge with your Epic Games account.

Configuring Download Settings

To configure MetaHuman download settings in Quixel Bridge, follow these steps:

In the Quixel Bridge app, click any MetaHuman portrait in either the MetaHuman Presets or My MetaHumans gallery. This opens a separate information panel for that MetaHuman.
From the MetaHuman’s information panel, click the Settings (gear) button, then select Download Settings.
In the Textures tab, select which texture maps you want to generate and download for your MetaHumans.
Note that each additional texture map you select will increase the time it takes to generate and download your MetaHuman’s Assets.
In the Models tab, select which Assets you want to download for your MetaHumans from the MetaHumans dropdown. You have the following three options:
- UAsset: Includes meshes, textures and Materials, Blueprints, and animations that work with Unreal Engine.
- Source Asset: Includes the source mesh, textures, and animation files.
- UAsset + Source Asset: Includes both source and game files.
If you want to use MetaHumans in Unreal Engine, you must set this option to Uasset + Source Asset. Otherwise, the export will fail.
Also in the Models tab, select which LODs you want to download. LOD 0 is the highest level of detail for a MetaHuman and is appropriate for projects targeting latest-generation hardware with raytracing capabilities. LOD 8 is the lowest level of detail for a MetaHuman and is the better choice for low-end devices, like some older mobile devices.
To learn more about MetaHuman LODs, refer to the MetaHuman LODs page.
Click the Back button to exit this panel. Your changes will be saved automatically.
From the MetaHuman’s information panel, select the texture resolution.
Note that the higher the resolution, the longer it will take to generate and download your MetaHuman’s Assets.

Configuring Export Settings

To configure MetaHuman export settings in Quixel Bridge, follow these steps:

In the Quixel Bridge app, click any MetaHuman portrait in either the MetaHuman Presets or My MetaHumans gallery. This opens a separate information panel for that MetaHuman.
From the MetaHuman’s information panel, click the Settings (gear) button, then select Export Settings.
In the Export Target section, from the Export Target dropdown menu, select either Unreal Engine or Maya.
As a reminder, working with MetaHumans is only supported in Unreal Engine and Maya.
After you select an Export Target, you will see a Download Plugin button if the plugin for that Target has not been installed. Click the Download Plugin button and wait for the plugin to download.
Configure plugin settings as described below.

For Unreal Engine

In the Export Target section, configure the following settings:
- Engine Version: Select the version of Unreal Engine that you want to use. Working with MetaHumans is only supported in Unreal Engine 4.26.2 and newer versions.
- Plugin Directory: Set this field to the Plugins directory inside the Unreal Engine installation directly for the engine version you selected. By default, this path is:
  - C:\Program Files\Epic Games\UE_[version]\Engine\Plugins on Windows
  - Users\Shared\Epic Games\UE_[version]\Engine\Plugins on macOS.
Optionally, you can also select a Default Project to export to. This is useful if you keep multiple projects open at the same time.
Click the Install Plugin button and wait for installation to complete.
In the Models section, from the MetaHumans dropdown, select UAsset + Source Asset.