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Image to 3D world: one scene image, a place you can enter.

Use image-to-3D world when the photograph is a place. Marble is the current persistent-world product path. Do not confuse it with object meshes or 360 skyboxes.

Image to 3D world: one scene image, a place you can enter. guide cover

Takeaways

  • Use this path when the input is a scene and the output should be an explorable 3D world.
  • Marble is the current product-backed world route on this site.
  • A world export is still not a robot simulator, and it is not automatically engine-ready geometry.

Output formats

Choose the file your next tool can use.

File extensions do not guarantee identical contents. Check whether the result is a mesh, a Gaussian-splat scene, or a provider-specific package before importing it.
SPZ

SPZ

SPZ stores compressed 3D Gaussian splats rather than a conventional polygon mesh. It retains splat attributes such as position, scale, rotation, opacity, color, and spherical harmonics while reducing file size. Use an SPZ-compatible splat viewer and confirm coordinate-system handling before moving the scene between tools.

Best for
Compact Gaussian-splat worlds, web viewers, and real-time scene delivery.
Open with
Open it in an SPZ-compatible Gaussian-splat viewer or runtime. Niantic's browser-based SPZ Tools can inspect metadata and convert between SPZ and compatible PLY splat files without installing an application.
How to use
Keep SPZ as the compact delivery copy when the target viewer supports it. Import it through that viewer's SPZ loader, or convert a working copy to PLY when an editor needs a less compressed interchange format.
Check first
Confirm the SPZ version, point count, spherical-harmonic detail, coordinate system, orientation, scale, and visual quality after decompression. Do not treat it as a polygon mesh.
SOG

SOG

SOG means Spatially Ordered Gaussians. It is a lossy, compact container made from a metadata file and compressed image data that stores the properties of a Gaussian-splat scene. Treat the download as a file set and keep its files together when hosting or importing it.

Best for
PlayCanvas, browser delivery, and streaming Gaussian-splat scenes.
Open with
Preview it with the PlayCanvas Viewer or another runtime that explicitly supports SOG. SOG is a dataset made from meta.json plus compressed image files, not a single conventional 3D model.
How to use
Extract the complete download when needed, preserve every companion filename and relative path, then load meta.json through the compatible viewer or host the entire file set together for streaming.
Check first
Check that no metadata or image file is missing, that the server returns the correct files, and that color, opacity, orientation, scale, and compression quality match the source scene.
PLY

PLY

PLY is an openly documented format for vertices and optional polygon faces with custom per-element properties. In a world-generation workflow, a PLY may contain Gaussian-splat point attributes rather than a ready-made triangle mesh. Inspect the header and use a compatible splat tool before assuming it will behave like an OBJ or GLB.

Best for
Splat editing, research tools, point-cloud exchange, and conversion workflows.
Open with
Open a Gaussian-splat PLY in a splat-aware editor or viewer such as SuperSplat. A general PLY importer may read the points but ignore the custom opacity, scale, rotation, and spherical-harmonic properties.
How to use
Use PLY as an editable or conversion-oriented copy of the splat scene. Import it into the intended splat tool, make or validate changes there, then export the delivery format required by the final viewer.
Check first
Inspect the PLY header before choosing a tool. Confirm whether it contains polygon faces, a basic point cloud, or Gaussian-splat attributes, then check point count, axes, scale, color, and opacity.
DRC

DRC

DRC is a raw file compressed with Google Draco, a library for meshes and point clouds. It is optimized for storage and transmission, but it is not a complete scene package by itself: materials, textures, cameras, and other world data may be delivered separately or omitted.

Best for
Compact geometry transfer and pipelines that already include a Draco decoder.
Open with
Decode it with Google's Draco decoder or open it through a 3D pipeline that explicitly supports raw DRC geometry. Most desktop viewers cannot use a standalone DRC file by double-clicking it.
How to use
Decode or transcode the geometry into the format expected by the next tool, then reconnect any separately delivered materials, textures, cameras, or scene data. Keep the original DRC as the compressed source copy.
Check first
Verify whether the decoded result is a mesh or point cloud and confirm positions, normals, texture coordinates, color attributes, scale, and orientation. DRC alone is not a complete rendered world.
WORLD

WORLD

WORLD labels the primary scene file returned by the Hunyuan World provider; it is not a universal interchange standard like glTF. Preserve the original filename and any companion files, then use the provider's documented workflow or convert the result before opening it in a general 3D tool.

Best for
Keeping the provider-native Hunyuan World result for its supported workflow.
Open with
Use the Hunyuan World workflow or runtime documented for the generated package. General-purpose 3D applications should not be expected to recognize a provider-native WORLD file directly.
How to use
Preserve the original filename, folder structure, and every companion asset. Start from the provider's loader or conversion path, and create a separate GLB, DRC, or other working copy only when that workflow supports it.
Check first
Confirm the provider version, required runtime, companion files, coordinate system, scene scale, licensing, and conversion limitations before depending on the package outside its native workflow.
GLB

GLB

A world GLB uses the same binary glTF container as an object GLB, but the contents can be very different: it may be an environment mesh, depth mesh, or a provider-specific scene export. It does not automatically preserve the view-dependent appearance or navigational behavior of a Gaussian-splat world.

Best for
Mesh-based web previews, common 3D applications, and engine import.
Open with
Preview it in World Models Watch or a glTF viewer, edit it with Blender's glTF 2.0 importer, or import it into a compatible Unity, Unreal Engine, Godot, or web 3D workflow.
How to use
Treat it as a mesh-based environment export. Import one copy into the destination, then configure materials, lighting, collision, navigation, cameras, and performance settings required by that project.
Check first
Check scale, axes, normals, material extensions, texture color, holes, collision suitability, polygon cost, and whether the scene is only a depth shell. A world GLB is not automatically a navigable splat world.

When to use it

The input has to be a place, not a product shot.

The generator at /image-to-3d-world is for one scene image that should become an explorable 3D world. World Labs Marble is the current world-generation route behind that page.

If the photograph is a single object on a table, use image-to-3D model instead. If you only need a surrounding panorama, use Skybox AI.

Open image to 3D worldGenerate an explorable world from one scene image.Marble dossierPersistent 3D world product profile.Compare explorable world outputsChoose between mesh, splat, skybox, and world packages.

What to inspect

Walk the scene before you trust the thumbnail.

A world is only as good as what happens when the camera moves. Check whether walls hold together, whether the far side of the room exists, and whether the export you need is actually documented: Gaussian splats, meshes, or video.

Marble documentation is the source for current export and account limits. This guide does not invent a universal engine pipeline.

Skybox AI vs MarblePanorama shell versus persistent world.

Open alternative

HY-World 2.0 is the inspectable stack, not the onboarding path.

If the job is public code, reconstruction, and generated 3D assets rather than a hosted product, open HY-World 2.0. That comparison is about workflow, not a claim that the open stack already matches Marble's editor.

For Unity or Unreal environment plates, Skybox AI may still be the faster first output even when a later Marble or HY-World pass is planned.

HY-World 2.0 vs MarbleOpen world stack versus product surface.Text-to-3D world routesBroader landing page for persistent-world searches.

FAQ

Is every image-to-3D world a world model?

No. The useful test is persistence and navigation: can the place hold together when you move, edit, or return? A pretty still from a generator is not enough.

Decision tables

Use a comparison when two lanes are still competing.

Best Skybox AI alternativesQuick 360 environment, or an explorable, editable persistent 3D world?HY-World 2.0 vs MarbleOpen 3D world stack, or polished persistent-world product workflow?

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