How to Get a Layered PSD into Unity Without Flattening It
Unity merges a PSD into one flat sprite by default. Here are three browser-based ways to keep your layers and get clean, Unity-ready assets — no Photoshop, no plugin.
Why Unity flattens your PSD
Drag a .psd straight into Unity and it arrives as a single flattened sprite — every layer merged into one image. To keep the layers you have to install the 2D PSD Importer package and work with .psb files, and even then adjustment layers, layer effects and blend modes get rasterized. The manual alternative — slicing each element by hand in the Sprite Editor, or exporting layers one at a time — is slow and easy to get wrong.
Option 1: Turn each layer into a Unity sprite
The most faithful route is to keep every layer as its own sprite. Open the file with the PSD to Unity tool: each layer is preserved at its original position, and you export a Unity ZIP containing a transparent PNG for every sprite plus a prefab that recreates the exact layout. Unzip it into your project Assets folder and the artwork drops in the way your artist designed it.
Option 2: Pack frames into a sprite sheet
If you are dealing with animation frames or a lot of small elements, one packed texture beats dozens of separate files — fewer draw calls and less memory. The sprite sheet maker lets you drop in frames or a layered PSD, arrange them on a grid, and export a single transparent PNG you can slice in your engine.
Just need to open or check the file?
Sometimes you only need to inspect a handoff before importing anything. You can open a PSD online with its layers intact — toggle visibility, check opacity, confirm the structure — without launching Photoshop, and without uploading the file anywhere.
Which route should you use
- Static UI or a scene layout: keep each layer as a sprite (Option 1) so positions and stacking order come in intact.
- Character or effect animation: pack the frames into a sprite sheet (Option 2) for one clean texture.
- Just reviewing a handoff: open the PSD to check the layers before you import anything.
Getting started
Everything runs locally in your browser — your PSD never leaves your device, which matters for client work and unreleased art. If you still need to touch up the artwork, the image editor with layers keeps your edits non-destructive; and if you are assembling the menu itself, the game UI button maker exports matching buttons. When the assets are ready, start with the PSD to Unity tool or open the full editor. It is free to use, with no sign-up needed to get going.
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