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Guide · 3D avatars

Ready Player Me is gone. Now what?

Make my Bobble

Netflix bought Ready Player Me and switched it off for everyone else. Whether you shipped its SDK or just liked your avatar, here's where to go now.

Updated September 30, 2026By the Bobble team

Ready Player Me was the easy way to get one 3D avatar that worked across games and apps. In December 2025 Netflix bought the company, and on January 31, 2026 the avatar creator, the PlayerZero game platform and the developer APIs went offline. The tech now lives only inside Netflix games.

So who needs a Ready Player Me alternative? Two groups: developers who had the SDK in their app, and people who just want a 3D avatar of themselves. The first five picks are tools for developers. The last three are apps for everyone else. We checked each one in September 2026.

Full disclosure: we make Bobble, and it's on this list. We tell you who each app fits, including when it's not us.

  1. 1

    MetaPerson (Avatar SDK)

    itSeez3D

    Developers: the closest drop-in swap for RPM

    Web, Unity, Unreal EngineFirst avatar free, Pro plan $800/month, Enterprise custom

    If you want to replace Ready Player Me with the least rework, start here. MetaPerson Creator turns one selfie into a rigged, full-body avatar, and it embeds in your app with an iframe and a JavaScript API, much like RPM's creator did. There are SDKs for Unity, Unreal and the web, exports in GLB, glTF and FBX, and styles from realistic to cartoon. Avatar SDK has published a step-by-step RPM migration guide. Anyone can also make one avatar for free in the browser to test it.

    Watch out: The Pro plan is $800 a month, which is a big jump if you were on RPM's free tier.

    Visit MetaPerson (Avatar SDK) ↗
  2. 2

    Avaturn

    Avaturn

    Developers: realistic selfie avatars with lots of looks

    Web, Unity, Unreal Engine, iOS, AndroidFree Basic plan, Pro $800/month, Enterprise custom

    Avaturn also makes a realistic 3D avatar from a selfie, then lets people pick from over 10,000 looks across body types, hair, clothes and accessories. Avatars come with a standard humanoid rig, ARKit blendshapes and visemes, so they work with Mixamo animations and VTubing tools, and they export to Blender, Maya, Unity and Unreal. The Pro plan adds your own branding, an API and SDK for custom UI, your own user accounts and custom garment uploads.

    Watch out: Branding, SDK customization and custom clothes are on the $800 Pro plan, not the free one.

    Visit Avaturn ↗
  3. 3

    Genies Avatar SDK

    Genies

    Developers: free stylized avatars for Unity games

    Unity (iOS, Android, Windows, VR)Free on the Unity Asset Store

    If you were on RPM because it was free and you build in Unity, the Genies Avatar SDK is the obvious look. It's a free Unity package with a ready-made avatar system for players and NPCs, modular wearables and customization, and it works with Unity 2022.3 and Unity 6. Genies is also building Art Forge, a tool for generating wearables and assets in the same style. The look is stylized and cartoony, closer to RPM's than the realistic options above.

    Watch out: It's Unity only and supports the Universal Render Pipeline only, so web, Unreal and HDRP projects are out.

    Visit Genies Avatar SDK ↗
  4. 4

    VRoid Studio

    pixiv

    Anime-style avatars in the open VRM format

    Windows, Mac, iPadFree

    VRoid Studio is free software for making anime-style 3D characters without knowing 3D modeling. You shape the face, hair and body with sliders, and paint textures directly on the model, with Apple Pencil support on iPad. Every model exports as a VRM file, an open format that lots of VTubing apps, games and social platforms read. You can also upload characters to VRoid Hub, where supported apps can load them. For developers, supporting VRM means players can bring avatars from VRoid and elsewhere.

    Watch out: It's a creation tool, not a drop-in SDK, and every avatar comes out in an anime style.

    Visit VRoid Studio ↗
  5. 5

    MetaHuman

    Epic Games

    Developers: film-quality realistic humans

    Unreal EngineFree with Unreal Engine

    MetaHuman is Epic's tool for extremely realistic digital humans. Since Unreal Engine 5.6 in June 2025, MetaHuman Creator runs right inside the engine, and it's out of early access. The license was also changed so MetaHumans can be used in other engines and creative software, not only Unreal. It's the right pick when you want lifelike characters for a game, a film or a cutscene, and you have artists who can handle the setup.

    Watch out: It's built for artists making characters, not for letting your players make their own avatar in a minute like RPM did.

    Visit MetaHuman ↗
  6. 6

    Bobble

    We make this

    A 3D bobblehead of yourself, from a selfie, for your crew

    Web today, iPhone and Android coming soonFree

    Bobble is a consumer app, not an SDK. There's no API and nothing to put in your game. If you just want a 3D avatar that looks like you, it turns a selfie into a 3D bobblehead with a vinyl-toy look, on a spring body you dress up. In the app, coming soon to iPhone and Android, your friends' Bobbles show a status like gym, party or asleep, and you send one-tap reactions. Today you can make your bobblehead for free on the web.

    Watch out: It won't export a file to other games like RPM did, and the app isn't out yet: today it's the web maker only.

    Make your Bobble now →
  7. 7

    ZEPETO

    NAVER Z

    A 3D avatar you dress up and take into worlds

    iPhone, AndroidFree, in-app purchases (ZEMs), optional membership

    If what you liked about RPM was building a 3D character and taking it places, ZEPETO does that inside one app. You make your avatar, dress it from a huge catalog of player-made and brand items, take photos and videos with it, and visit thousands of worlds with friends. You can even design and sell clothes in ZEPETO Studio, or use your avatar to stream as a VTuber. It's the best fit here if fashion is your thing.

    Watch out: Your avatar stays inside ZEPETO, and the best items cost ZEMs.

    Visit ZEPETO ↗
  8. 8

    Bitmoji

    Snap

    An avatar for stickers and chats with friends

    Inside Snapchat (iPhone, Android, web)Free, some styles need Snapchat+

    Bitmoji is the avatar most of your friends already have. It's a 3D cartoon version of you that shows up in Snapchat chats, stickers, the Snap Map and Bitmoji Plaza, a 3D town square Snap started testing in late 2025. Snap retired the separate Bitmoji app on June 30, 2026, so you now make and dress your Bitmoji inside Snapchat. The keyboard and stickers still work through Snapchat's keyboard and iMessage extension.

    Watch out: You need a Snapchat account, and your Bitmoji can't be exported as a 3D file for other apps.

    Visit Bitmoji ↗

What happened to Ready Player Me?

Ready Player Me alternatives for developers, compared

ToolFrom a selfieEnginesFormatsPrice
MetaPerson (Avatar SDK)YesWeb, Unity, UnrealGLB, glTF, FBXFrom $800/mo
AvaturnYesWeb, Unity, Unreal, iOS, AndroidGLB and othersFree Basic, Pro $800/mo
Genies Avatar SDKNoUnity (URP)Unity packageFree
VRoid StudioNoAny app that reads VRMVRMFree
MetaHumanNoUnreal, other engines allowedUnreal assetsFree with Unreal

Watch out for old lists: Union Avatars, another selfie-avatar platform, has also gone offline, and Inworld AI makes voices and AI character brains, not 3D avatar bodies. Neither replaces Ready Player Me.

Ready Player Me alternatives for everyone else

If you never touched an SDK and just want a 3D avatar of yourself, you don't need a developer tool. Pick by what you want to do with it:

How to move off Ready Player Me

  1. Find every place your app called RPM's servers: the creator iframe, avatar URLs and the REST API. They all fail now.
  2. Check your storage for GLB files you cached. Those still load, so you can keep existing players' avatars while you switch.
  3. Pick a replacement by style: realistic from a selfie (MetaPerson, Avaturn), stylized in Unity (Genies), anime and open format (VRM from VRoid), or lifelike NPCs (MetaHuman).
  4. Test your animations. Rigs and blendshape names differ between providers, so retargeting takes time.
  5. Tell your players. Their old avatar may not come back, so a one-tap way to make a new one helps.

Questions people ask

Is Ready Player Me shut down?

Yes. Netflix acquired Ready Player Me in December 2025, and on January 31, 2026 the public avatar creator, the PlayerZero platform and the developer APIs went offline. The technology is now used only inside Netflix's own games. You can't make new Ready Player Me avatars anymore.

Why did Netflix buy Ready Player Me?

Netflix wants its members to have one avatar that follows them across the games in its library. Buying Ready Player Me gave it the technology and about 20 people from the team, including co-founder and CTO Rainer Selvet. Netflix chose to use it only for its own games.

Can I still download my Ready Player Me avatar?

No. The creator and APIs are offline, so avatars stored on Ready Player Me's servers can't be retrieved. If you downloaded a GLB file before January 31, 2026, keep it: it still opens in Blender, Unity, Unreal and other tools that read GLB.

What is the best Ready Player Me alternative?

For developers who want a selfie-based creator you can embed, MetaPerson from Avatar SDK is the closest match, with Avaturn as a strong second. For a free Unity option, try the Genies Avatar SDK. If you just want a 3D avatar of yourself for fun, try Bobble, ZEPETO or Bitmoji.

Is there a free Ready Player Me alternative?

Yes. The Genies Avatar SDK is free on the Unity Asset Store, VRoid Studio is free and exports VRM files, MetaHuman is free with Unreal Engine, and Avaturn has a free Basic plan. For personal use, MetaPerson Creator gives you your first avatar free, and Bobble is free.

Is Bobble an SDK like Ready Player Me?

No. Bobble is a consumer app, not an SDK, so there's nothing to plug into your game. It turns your selfie into a 3D bobblehead that you and your friends use in the Bobble app, which is coming soon to iPhone and Android. Today you can make your bobblehead free on the web.

Make your own Bobble

Snap a selfie and meet your 3D bobblehead in about 30 seconds. Free, and it will be waiting in the app on launch day.

Make my Bobble

Keep exploring

Apps like Zepeto3D avatar apps to dress up and hang out.Games like IMVUAvatar games and virtual worlds worth your time.Games like RobloxBuild, create and hang out with friends.Best apps for friendsFun apps to stay close with your crew.Apps like LocketFriend widgets for your home screen.Zenly alternativesSee what friends are up to, with or without a map.

Sources

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