Editing VRChat Creator Economy (section)

=== What the Avatar Marketplace Does NOT Replace ===

[[VRChat Inc.]] was explicit at launch: the Avatar Marketplace does not replace existing external avatar distribution:

* Users can '''still upload custom avatars''' through Unity and the SDK
* Creators can '''still sell avatar source files''' on Gumroad, BOOTH, and Jinxxy
* External platforms are not blocked or penalized

This is the critical distinction. The Avatar Marketplace is a parallel, frictionless purchase path for end users — not a walled garden that forces creators to abandon their existing workflows. As community member qDot summarized after the 2024 layoffs: *"You cannot put the asset genie back in the bottle for VRChat."* [[VRChat Inc.]] appears to have understood this: the Creator Economy expands the market rather than replacing it.