The main formats
| Format | What it is | Size compared with PLY | What it is used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| PLY | The format of the original paper and the interchange standard. Lossless. | Baseline; can reach several GB | Editing, archiving and training |
| SPZ | Open source compressed format created by Niantic. | About 10 times smaller, lossy | Interchange and mobile apps |
| SOG | PlayCanvas compressed format designed for the web. It has a level-of-detail variant for very large scenes. | 15 to 20 times smaller, lossy | Websites and CDN delivery |
| GLB (glTF) | glTF with Khronos's KHR_gaussian_splatting extension, published as a release candidate in 2026. | Similar to PLY, uncompressed | glTF-based pipelines |
| SPLAT and KSPLAT | Compact formats that started with specific web viewers. | Smaller than PLY | Compatibility with those viewers |
Which format to choose
- To keep the original and keep editing: PLY.
- To publish on a website: SOG, or SPZ if the viewer supports it.
- For very large scenes on the web: level-of-detail SOG, which only downloads what the camera needs.
- For glTF-based pipelines: GLB with KHR_gaussian_splatting, checking first that the viewer supports it.
On the web
The browser draws the Gaussians with WebGL or WebGPU, with nothing for the user to install. The most used engines are PlayCanvas, which also offers SuperSplat, a free editor that runs in the browser; Babylon.js, which supports it natively; and three.js, through libraries such as Spark.
The 3D viewer on this site, for example, is built with PlayCanvas and loads a SOG file.
In Unity and Unreal Engine
The usual way to bring Gaussian Splatting into these engines is through plugins. Unity has open source projects, such as Aras Pranckevičius's (experimental, reads PLY and SPZ), and commercial plugins. Unreal Engine has commercial plugins, such as Volinga's, and several open source ones.
When choosing one, check which formats it reads, whether it plays 4D sequences, how it blends with the scene's lighting and meshes, and which platforms it runs on.
In virtual and augmented reality
Virtual reality headsets display Gaussian Splatting through engines such as Unity or Unreal, or from the browser with WebXR. Because they must draw two images at a high frame rate, the number of Gaussians is usually reduced and optimized for each device.
And 4D Gaussian Splatting
There is no standard format for scenes in motion yet: each tool stores sequences its own way. That is why, in a 4D project, the format is chosen according to the final player.
What is 4D Gaussian SplattingSources
- Splat File Formats
PlayCanvas Developer Documentation.
- Khronos Announces glTF Gaussian Splatting Extension
The Khronos Group, 3 February 2026.
- SuperSplat
PlayCanvas.
- Spark
Gaussian Splatting renderer for three.js.
- UnityGaussianSplatting
Aras Pranckevičius.