How to Import Quixel Assets into Unreal Engine 5 (And Why Some Don’t Work)

Step-by-step setup using Quixel Bridge, plus how to avoid unsupported assets

Importing assets into Unreal Engine should be simple, but once you start working with Quixel assets, things can get confusing fast.

Some assets drop right into your project and work perfectly, while others do nothing when you click “Add to Project” or just don’t show up the way you expect. It can feel like you’re doing something wrong, when in reality, you’re probably just dealing with the wrong type of asset.

In this guide, we’re going to walk through the correct way to import assets using Quixel, and more importantly, how to quickly tell which assets will actually work in your Unreal Engine project so you don’t waste time guessing.

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Go Straight to a Step! 🏁

Tap a step below to jump right to that section:

1. Project Setup & Requirements
2. Access Quixel Asset (Bridge vs Fab)
3. What Are Megascans (And Why They’re So Useful)
4. Find and Select Assets on Fab
5. Add the Asset to Your Project
6. Test the Asset

Step 1: Project Setup & Requirements

I’m using Unreal Engine 5.7.4 with the Third Person template for this example. The template doesn’t matter, and this works the same across recent Unreal Engine versions. I’ve also tested this in 5.5.4 with no issues.

All you need is Unreal Engine installed and an Epic Games account. If you’re here, you probably already have both ready to go.

We’ll be accessing Quixel assets through Fab, which has replaced the older Quixel Bridge workflow.

Step 2: Access Quixel Assets (Bridge vs Fab)

• In the top toolbar, click the Quickly Add to Project button, then select Quixel Bridge.

• In newer versions like 5.7.4, this will still open Quixel Bridge inside Unreal Engine.

• In older versions, you may be redirected to Fab instead. That’s what we’ll be using for this example.

• Make sure you’re logged in, and then we’re ready to move on.

If you opened Fab directly and don’t see Quixel content right away, search for “Quixel” and select the Quixel Megascans publisher to access the standard Megascans library used in this guide. You may also see Megaplants, which use a different, more advanced setup, so we won’t be covering those here.

What Are Megascans (And Why They’re So Useful)

Before we start grabbing assets, quick context.

Megascans are high-quality, real-world scanned assets provided by Quixel. That means instead of building everything from scratch, you can drop in things like rocks, walls, dirt, plants, and props that already look realistic right out of the box.

Think of it as skipping the “spend 3 hours making a decent rock” phase and just using one that already looks better than anything you were about to make anyway.

They’re optimized to work inside Unreal Engine, so most of the time it’s just download, add to your project, and you’re good to go!

[embed]Fab Fab is a digital marketplace that offers creators a single destination to discover, share, buy and sell high quality…www.fab.com

Step 3: Find and Select Assets on Fab

Once you’re on Fab, you’ll see a large library of assets available.

• For this example, I’ll set the price filter to Free so we’re only working with assets you can grab right away.

• On the left side, you’ll see different categories. For this example, I’m going into 3D, then Food & Drink, and selecting Cooked Food to browse some options.
• Now you can start browsing.

Choosing an Asset That Works

Let’s take this half pork pie as an example.

When you open an asset like this, you’ll see details such as formats, compatibility, and usage. The key thing you’re looking for is whether the asset can actually be used inside Unreal Engine.

If the asset supports standard formats like FBX or GLB and doesn’t restrict you to a specific environment, you’re good to go.

• Go ahead and click Add to My Library. This saves the asset to your personal library so you can access it later inside Unreal.

Why Some Assets Don’t Work

Now here’s where people get tripped up.

If we look at something like this colored chip cookie, you’ll notice a key difference.

This asset is labeled with UEFN — Reference only, which means it’s designed for Unreal Editor for Fortnite, not standard Unreal Engine projects.

Even though you can still add it to your library, it won’t import properly into your Unreal project.

So the rule is simple:

• If it’s standard formats and usable → you’re good
• If it says UEFN or reference only → skip it

Another Note

You might see an option to download a zip file and import assets manually. That is possible, but it can introduce issues depending on how the files are set up. For this guide, we’re sticking with the built-in workflow to keep everything clean and reliable!

Step 4: Add the Asset to Your Project

• Back inside Unreal Engine, open the Content Drawer.

• Click the Fab button, make sure you’re signed in, then go to your Library tab.

Here, you’ll see any assets you added from Fab. (Make sure you’re signed in still)

Why Some Assets Can’t Be Added

You might notice that some assets don’t have a + icon and can’t be added to your scene like normal.

In my case, I tested this with a couple of UEFN assets, and they don’t support direct importing into a standard Unreal Engine project using this workflow.

There are other ways to work with those assets, but we’re not covering that here.

Importing the Asset

For assets that do work, you can either click the + icon or open the asset page directly like I am.

You might see a warning saying the asset isn’t available for Unreal Engine. In some cases, that’s referring to the UEFN version, not the actual downloadable formats. If standard formats like FBX are included, the asset can still work normally.

On the other hand, assets like the cookie only support UEFN and don’t include usable formats like FBX or GLB, so they won’t work in a standard Unreal Engine project.

From there, you can choose a quality level:

• Raw
• High
• Medium
• Low

For this example, I’ll select High, then click Add to Project.

Once the download finishes, Unreal will automatically place the asset into your Content Drawer.

• You’ll usually find it inside a Fab folder, then Megascans, where everything is organized for you.

This asset comes with all the necessary materials and textures already set up. You can rename the asset or the folder to keep things organized. If you see two folders here, it’s because I also added another Megascans asset (the cow skull) to the project.

Test the Asset

• Now you can drag the static mesh directly into your scene and start adjusting it however you need.

• From here, you can scale, rotate, and position the asset to fit your environment.

Megascans assets are highly detailed and can be pretty heavy depending on the quality you choose. They can take up a good amount of storage and impact performance, so it’s a good idea to use lower quality versions or optimize them if needed!

There are plenty of assets to explore and experiment with, so take some time to test different options and see what works best for your project. This should give you a solid starting point for bringing high-quality assets into your projects and understanding what actually works before you waste time importing the wrong ones!

Want more Unreal Engine 5 Miscellaneous content?

Explore the full collection here:

[embed]List: Unreal Engine: Miscellaneous | Curated by Shaun Fulton | Medium Unreal Engine: Miscellaneous · A collection of non-project tasks that support the workflow. These aren't tutorials or…medium.com

🎁 Bonus Unreal Tip

Before you go, here’s one more Unreal thing you might find useful or interesting:

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Once your environment starts coming together, custom level thumbnails are a great way to keep large Unreal projects organized and easier to navigate. This quick short shows how to create clean custom thumbnails so your maps are easier to identify at a glance inside the editor.