Google to close Poly content platform to shift resources towards AR experiences

Google announced today that Poly users would no longer be able to upload new models after April 2021 and they are going to shut down the 3D- object creation and library platform forever by next year. The scheduled date for shot down the service is on June 30, 2021.

Poly is a website from Google for the users to browse, distribute and download 3D objects. It features a free library containing thousands of 3D objects for use in virtual reality. It allows designers to upload their 3D models to the gallery.  The uploaded models to this service can then freely used in other projects if the attribution is given by the original developer.

Today, Google announced the users will not be able to upload any new models after April 2021 and that the service will be shut down on June 30, 2021.

“Your assets will be available at poly.google.com until June 30, 2021. You can download your entire library at takeout.google.com, or you can download individual assets by viewing each asset’s page. After June 30, poly.google.com and associated APIs will no longer be accessible. You will not be able to upload new 3D models on poly.google.com after April 30, 2021.”

They tool the service is shutting down to shift resources towards creating helpful AR experiences.

“We’re shifting resources so we can continue investing heavily in helpful AR experiences — like Google Lens, AR walking navigation in Maps, and AR in Search — that use the smartphone camera to bridge the digital and physical worlds, helping people do more with what they see and learn about the world around them.”

Users that have uploaded objects to Poly will be able to download their data and models ahead of shutdown.