VRvirtual-toursassets

How to Repurpose VR Meeting Assets After Workrooms Ends: A Practical Guide

ffreedir

2026-01-22

11 min read

Step-by-step 2026 guide to export, convert and repurpose Workrooms VR assets into 3D models, virtual tours and listing content that drives local leads.

Lost Workrooms? How to turn a shutdown into new leads — fast

Meta ended the standalone Workrooms app on February 16, 2026. If your team built meeting rooms, showrooms or other 3D assets there, you’re facing a familiar small‑business headache: valuable visuals and virtual experiences suddenly at risk — and your local visibility and listings could suffer if you don’t act. This guide walks you step‑by‑step through exporting, converting and repurposing Workrooms assets into formats and platforms that actually drive calls, visits and bookings.

Quick takeaways (read first)

Audit first: identify what Meta can export and what you must recreate.
Two clear paths: export native assets (if provided) or rebuild via photogrammetry/360 capture.
Convert & optimise: use Blender, glTF/GLB and USDZ to publish on web, Google Business Profile and Apple AR.
List smart: embed interactive tours in listings, add 360 previews and short video walkthroughs to boost conversions.
Future‑proof: host GLB files on Sketchfab or your CDN and use <model-viewer> / WebXR for cross‑device access. For storage and long-term creator catalog strategies see Storage for Creator-Led Commerce.

Why this matters in 2026

The VR landscape changed rapidly in late 2025 and early 2026. Meta shifted strategy away from Workrooms toward broader Horizon experiences and AR wearables, and Reality Labs restructures forced many organisations to re-evaluate where their 3D investments live. For local businesses, the risk isn’t just losing a virtual meeting room — it’s losing an asset that drove footfall, bookings and search visibility when embedded in your listings.

At the same time, the web 3D ecosystem matured: glTF/GLB became the de‑facto standard for web models, USDZ remains important for Apple AR Quick Look, and browser‑based viewers plus WebXR make immersive experiences accessible without headsets. That means you can salvage your Workrooms assets and get more value from them on websites, Google Business Profiles, real estate listings and marketplaces — if you follow a clear process. If you prefer a documented, modular approach to publishing and delivery, our recommendations align with the ideas in Future‑Proofing Publishing Workflows.

Step 1 — Audit your Workrooms assets (15–60 minutes)

Before you do anything, document what you have. Treat this like an assets discovery for SEO and listings work: map every room, object and media file to a use case.

Inventory: list rooms, custom 3D objects, imported models, textures, 360 panoramas and recordings. Use a spreadsheet with columns: name, type, size, owner, last modified, usage (e.g., sales demo), and priority.
Identify owners & rights: who uploaded or commissioned each model? Confirm you have the rights to export and reuse the assets — many studios retain IP clauses. Keep a documented trail of requests and permissions; a tools-forward approach to tracking correspondence is useful — see Compose.page for Cloud Docs for collaborative notes and ownership records.
Ask Meta first: check official Workrooms shutdown communications and support pages for an export tool or data request form. Meta may provide a downloadable archive or a migration path to Horizon or a managed export.

Meta said Workrooms would be discontinued as a standalone app on February 16, 2026, with Horizon positioned as the next step for productivity apps.

Step 2 — Export options: what to expect and how to request it

Two scenarios are common after a platform shutdown:

Meta provides an export tool or archive: grab it. Exports often include 3D files (GLB, FBX, OBJ), textures, and session recordings. Save raw archives to your company cloud and a local backup.
No direct export available: prepare to recreate or capture assets yourself using photogrammetry, 360 capture, or scene reconstruction tools.

How to request an export:

Open the official Meta/Workrooms help article and follow the “data download” or support flow. If a direct export is offered, request it for each workspace and associated owner account.
If no public export exists, file a support request asking for an export of your organisation’s Workrooms data. Attach proof of ownership and a clear list of rooms/IDs from your audit.
Document response times and save all correspondence — you may need it for ownership rights later. Use collaborative docs and versioning to prove requests and responses (see Compose.page).

Step 3 — If you get exported files: convert and optimise (1–3 hours per model avg)

Assuming Meta provides files, here’s the typical pipeline to make assets web‑ready and listing‑friendly.

Common export formats and what to do with them

glTF / GLB: best for web and WebXR. Keep GLB where possible — it bundles geometry, textures and materials. Use glTF-Pipeline and FBX2glTF for conversions.
FBX / OBJ: legacy 3D formats. Import into Blender to clean, retopologize and export as GLB.
Textures (PNG/JPG/TGA): compress with TinyPNG or ImageOptim. Consider KTX2 / Basis Universal for GPU‑friendly web textures.
USDZ: use for Apple AR Quick Look. Blender + USD Exporter or Apple’s tools can create USDZ from GLB/FBX. If you need to verify iPhone compatibility or mobile AR workflows, compare device-fit in reviews like the iPhone 14 Pro review.

Practical Blender pipeline

Import FBX/OBJ into Blender.
Fix materials: bake PBR maps (albedo, roughness, normal) if needed.
Decimate high‑poly meshes and retopologize for real‑time use (target 50k–300k triangles for showroom scenes; fewer for object thumbnails).
Compress textures to 2K or 1K depending on use. Use Basis to transcode to GPU formats.
Export as glTF Binary (.glb) for the web; export USDZ for Apple AR clients.

Step 4 — If you can’t export: capture and rebuild (4–48 hours depending on scale)

When exports aren’t available, you still have reliable options:

Photogrammetry: take 100–400 overlapping photos of the physical space or printed assets. Use Meshroom (free) or Agisoft Metashape to build a mesh. Clean and retopologise in Blender. For capture chains and field video workflows, check field reviews like the Photon X Ultra capture chain overview (Photon X Ultra).
LiDAR capture: use an iPhone Pro / iPad Pro to scan rooms and export as OBJ/PLY. Great for building floor geometry and scale-accurate assets — portable device reviews can help you choose the right hardware (PocketCam-X and iPhone 14 Pro coverage).
360 capture for virtual tours: shoot 360° photos (Ricoh Theta, Insta360 or a smartphone rig). These make lightweight virtual tours without full 3D rebuilds.
Record VR walkthroughs: capture 360 video or 3D videos from the headset for marketing use — great for YouTube and listing videos. If you plan to turn those into short marketing assets, look at how micro-documentaries and short tours impact conversions (data‑informed video strategies).

Step 5 — Host, publishing and where to put assets for maximum listing impact

Once you have web‑ready GLB/360/video assets, the next step is to publish them where they affect discoverability and conversions.

Web and directory listings

Your website: embed interactive 3D models with <model-viewer> (Google) or Three.js for custom viewers. Host GLB on a CDN for performance; factor hosting costs into your plan and reference cloud cost playbooks like Cloud Cost Optimization when deciding between self‑hosted vs platform hosting.
Google Business Profile (formerly GBP): add 360 photos and videos to your listing. Google supports 360 virtual tours via Street View partners — you can upload 360 images or link to Matterport/Cupix tours. Listings with virtual tours get longer session times and more clicks.
Real estate & marketplace listings: upload 360 panoramas and a 2–3 minute walkthrough video. Provide a link to your interactive tour hosted on your site or Sketchfab. For better listing templates and microformat tactics, see the Listing Templates & Microformats Toolkit.
Business directories like freedir.co.uk: attach tour links, a short embed, or a thumbnail that opens the interactive model — this increases engagement on directory pages.

3D model hosting platforms

Sketchfab — public and private embedding, great for product assets and quick embeds. For long-term storage and creator commerce concerns, pairing Sketchfab with a storage strategy from Storage for Creator-Led Commerce is a solid approach.
Google Poly closed, but platforms like Sketchfab and p3d.in remain options.
Self‑hosted GLB + Model Viewer — best for control and SEO (fast, embeddable, and indexable with proper schema). If you have tighter network needs during migration, portable network and data-centre kits can be helpful (Portable Network & COMM Kits).

Step 6 — Turn assets into virtual tours and listing boosters

Not every buyer will open a GLB. Give them options: an HTML5 interactive 3D view, a guided 360 tour, and short teaser video clips for social and GBP.

Interactive tour shell: use Pano2VR, Kuula or Roundme to stitch 360 images into an interactive tour with hotspots linking to product pages or booking widgets.
Guided walkthroughs: create short narrated videos (60–120s) that show highlights and link back to the full tour in your listing.
Embedding for listings: add a prominent thumbnail with a play/embed action in your directory and GBP. Include a clear CTA like “Take the virtual tour” or “Book a live demo.”

Step 7 — Migrate to other VR platforms (if you want headset continuity)

If you need the same rooms in a different headset‑centric platform, these are good targets and approaches:

Horizon Worlds / Horizon apps: Meta indicated it will consolidate productivity into Horizon. Check whether Horizon accepts imports or rebuilds from glTF/FBX via a creator toolchain.
Engage / VirBELA / Glue or Spatial: often accept FBX/OBJ and have workspace editors. Convert GLB back to FBX in Blender where required.
Mozilla Hubs (Hubs Cloud): supports glTF and is a low‑cost way to redeploy rooms as web VR spaces. Good for lightweight shared access without headset friction — if you need edge-assisted collaboration and field kits for remote teams, see Edge‑Assisted Live Collaboration.

Advanced tips and future‑proofing (2026 trends)

Use glTF/GLB as canonical format: it’s the best compromise for web, AR and cross‑platform continuity in 2026.
Provide USDZ for Apple AR: buyers increasingly use AR to visualise items in real space; USDZ enables Quick Look on iPhones without apps.
Leverage AI tools: use AI upscalers for textures, and automated retopology services to speed conversion. Some platforms now auto‑optimise models for web delivery. For capture chain and texture workflows, see hands-on reviews such as the Photon X Ultra capture chain.
Accessibility & mobile first: ensure tours degrade gracefully on phones. Offer a 360 HTML fallback and short videos for low‑bandwidth users.
Metadata & schema: add structured data (schema.org:TouristAttraction, Product, RealEstateListing) to pages with embedded tours to improve search snippets. Use listing templates and microformats from the Listing Templates Toolkit to standardize your embeds.

Checklist — One‑page action plan

Audit assets and owners.
Contact Meta support for exports; request zip of workspace data.
If export provided: backup raw archive; convert to GLB; create USDZ; compress textures.
If no export: capture photogrammetry/LiDAR or 360s; rebuild high‑value scenes first.
Host GLB on Sketchfab or your CDN; embed with <model-viewer> and add fallback 360 images/videos.
Upload 360s and video to Google Business Profile and your directory listings; link the interactive tour prominently.
Measure: track clicks, time on listing, and booking conversions; iterate on thumbnails and CTA text. For measurement-led content strategies, see data‑informed yield.

Tools & resources (recommended, with quick uses)

Blender — import, repair, export GLB/FBX (free).
Meshlab / Meshroom — photogrammetry and mesh repair (free).
Agisoft Metashape — professional photogrammetry (paid).
Sketchfab — host, private embeds and viewer (free/paid).
Pano2VR, Kuula, Matterport, Cupix — build interactive tours (paid/free tiers).
<model-viewer> & Three.js — web embedding; use for SEO‑friendly and mobile‑compatible views.
TinyPNG / Basis Universal — texture compression.

Real‑world example: The local furniture showroom

We worked with a small furniture showroom that used Workrooms as a remote demo space. When the shutdown was announced they:

Audited 6 room scenes and 30 product models.
Requested export from Meta and received a partial archive (textures + FBX models).
Used Blender to convert to GLB and create USDZ for key items (so customers could AR the sofas at home).
Hosted tours on their site via <model-viewer> and uploaded 360 walkthroughs to GBP and freedir.co.uk listing.
Result: a 22% lift in listing clicks and a 14% increase in appointment bookings in three months — because buyers could visualise products and book instantly.

This illustrates the high ROI of repurposing VR assets into live listings and AR experiences.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

Ignoring rights: verify IP before using models publicly. Get written permissions if a vendor or studio built them. Use collaborative documents to track ownership claims (Compose.page).
Overloading listings: large GLB files slow pages. Compress and provide a 360 fallback. Consider hosting cost implications and optimization patterns discussed in Cloud Cost Optimization.
Skipping mobile users: ensure tours load on phones and add short video alternatives.
Not tracking performance: add UTM tags and analytics events to measure tour impact on leads; portable checkout and fulfillment toolkits can help turn clicks into bookings (Portable Checkout & Fulfillment Tools).

Next steps — 4 actions to do today

Run a 30‑minute audit of your Workrooms assets and owners. Add results to a shared spreadsheet.
Contact Meta support and request any available exports — save the response thread.
Choose one high‑value room or product and commit to a conversion pipeline (Blender → GLB → embed) this week. If you need capture or field kit guidance, see edge-assisted capture and field kit playbooks (edge-assisted collaboration and portable network kits).
Add a 360 thumbnail and a “Virtual tour” CTA to your main listing and directory pages (including freedir.co.uk) so visitors can engage immediately.

Final thoughts

The end of Workrooms is an opportunity to make your virtual experiences more accessible, more discoverable and more directly tied to results. By moving from a headset‑only space to web‑accessible GLB tours, 360 walkthroughs and AR Quick Look assets, you increase reach and make every listing a lead‑generation tool.

Ready to repurpose your Workrooms assets? Start with a one‑item export and publish it this week — then watch how interactive listings change buyer behaviour. If you need help auditing assets, converting models or embedding tours in your freedir.co.uk listing, our team can guide you through each step.

Call to action

Don’t let your investment vanish with Workrooms. Claim or update your business listing on freedir.co.uk today — upload a thumbnail, a 360 tour link or an embedded model, and we’ll feature it in local search. Need hands‑on help? Contact our local tech team for a free 30‑minute asset audit and a migration plan.

freedir

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