Twitter has added Sketchfab 3D/VR viewer support, which brings 3D and virtual reality to tweets. This deal makes Sketchfab the sole provider of real­-time 3D and VR models on Twitter timelines and tweets globally, opening up its community of over half­ a ­million contributors and close to one million 3D and VR scenes to Twitter’s global audience.

In addition to allowing Twitter users to explore 3D models within a tweet, every Sketchfab embed is instantly viewable in VR at the tap of a button on iOS and Android mobile devices using viewers such as Google Cardboard and the Samsung Gear VR. Desktop users who own the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive can also launch directly into VR using a WebVR supported browser.

“We’ve developed our tech on the backbone of WebGL and WebVR to be as universal and hassle-free as possible, rendering on 99 percent of websites across browsers on both mobile and desktop,” Paul Chambers, head of communications at Sketchfab, told [a]listdaily. “In essence, we’re looking to be the defacto format for 3D/VR content, so breaking down barriers to sharing and embedding has been a core tenet of our company since the very start.”

Sketchfab previously inked deals with Facebook, Reddit, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Kickstarter and WordPress. It’s also going be the official 3D publishing partner of Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft HoloLens and Intel RealSense. These deals helped solidify this Twitter partnership.

“We’ve been working closely with Twitter for a number of years to make this happen,” Chambers said. “As we’ve built partnerships with all the other major players both on the sharing side and on the exporting side (for example, directly exporting to Sketchfab from 3D software packages and mobile applications), each new case built confidence in Twitter that we were the right company to commit to for 3D and VR delivery. We also needed to honor their development pipeline.”

Chambers has already seen brands interested in connecting with customers through virtual reality on Twitter. “Much like our native integration in Facebook in February 2015, we’ve seen brands eager to find ways to bring more engaging content to their fans’ news feeds and timelines,” he said. “A 360-degree spin of a consumer product is pretty well established at this point, so an opportunity to go beyond that into a fully interactive, and often animated and/or annotated brand experience has given them what they’ve needed to provide ‘thumb-stopping’ content.”

“Since we added VR support, every Sketchfab experience—no matter what platform it’s on—is also viewable in VR at the tap or click of a button,” Chambers explained. He also stated that it’s a big deal for brands looking to get their work into VR without needing to invest time and money in a limited audience app store or proprietary technology. “This allows brands to deliver 3D and VR content to consumers where they are,” he continued. “It’s as simple as pasting a link into a tweet. We’ve worked hard to ensure that sharing 3D and VR is as intuitive as sharing any other piece of content: a video, an image or a piece of audio.”

Sketchfab has already worked with multiple brands on its Facebook implementation, including Adidas soccer, Blizzard Entertainment for World of Warcraft and MTV, and virtual reality is just the beginning for Sketchfab integration on Twitter. At the end of June, Twitter hired former Apple designer Alessandro Sabatelli as the director of VR and augmented reality (AR).

“We’ve talked with Alessandro and suffice to say, you can expect to see news from Twitter on that front in the near future,” Chambers said. “And with Facebook backing Oculus, it’s safe to say that all the major social players see a future in which our social interactions will occur in VR and AR.”

Chambers stated that mobile VR has two things going for it: mass reach and mobility, meaning not being tethered to a larger processing device. “Google is certainly committed to a mobile-driven VR future,” he said. “Combine that with Facebook and Twitter’s investment in VR and AR on all fronts, and I think we’re going to see some very exciting news ahead of us in the next twelve months.”