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Viability of ZBrush For Low Poly Game Asset Development

ZBrush Usage Questions
#1

Is ZBrush a viable option for developing low poly game assets such as for Unity, Steam Workshop, or Sony Player Studio? With the addition of the zModeler tool, it seems like ZBrush would be a good fit.

I would like to have a tool that does everything I need:

  1. 3D Modelling
  2. Low Polycounts from 1000-6000
  3. UV Mapping
  4. Texture creation and mapping

Bonus:
5. Ambient Occlusion
6. Normal maps

Model requirements:

  1. Unity: .FBX or .OBJ format.
  2. Steam Workshop: Dota2: .SMD .DMX or .FBX format.
  3. Steam Workshop: TF2: .SMD .DMX or .OBJ format.
  4. Sony Player Studio: .FBX format.
#2

Zbrush can perform nearly everything you want there, and you can add 2 other pieces of software to help augment the places that Zbrush is lacking.

Zbrush doesn’t support layers in the way most .psd editors will. So you’ll probably want to pick up gimp (free) or photoshop.
Zbrush doesn’t support the export of .fbx files. So you’ll want to pick up another 3d package. Blender (free) or Modo, Maya, Max, etc.

I personally use a slew of software when working on projects. Modo, Substance Painter, Substance Designer, Mari, Zbrush, Photoshop, xNormal, and Marvelous Designer. Also 3Dcoat or Topogun for retopo, but every 3D application now has retopo tools that are proficient enough to use and both of these software packages have been getting used less and less and have been replaced mainly with Modo’s retopo tools.

Eh, my 2cents.

#3

From ZBrush 4R7 (just released) ZBrush supports the export and import of FBX files:
http://docs.pixologic.com/user-guide/zbrush-plugins/fbx-exportimport/