I need some help regarding exporting a model

I’ve been mildly pulling my hair out over this for about 4 days now. Whenever I export this model my friend made to FBX It turns into an absolute abomination. Originally it was 1,000,000 VERTS. I attempted to lower it to around 600K. (I’m trying to get him into Unreal Engine) What I find odd about this whole thing is that when I export it to FBX It goes right back to 1,000,000! I checked all objects to see if they still have modifiers on them but there is nothing there, yet when It gets to FBX It’s subdivisioned and back to the way it was! Can somebody please help me with this whole thing and what not? (Oh yeah, and none of the textures work)

https://gyazo.com/1830599836d3487b646404ee78d01d7c
Example of the Good one

https://gyazo.com/ef155bcfae04bccc0376c0b8f1c89136
Example of the bad one

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Bt-2JCq2YGQpdhc2TToqN8UO8RaFShe_/view?usp=sharing
The .Blend

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PsAP484-qwpkerBnp1SUebMpvB8SuOtL/view?usp=sharing
The FBX

Modifiers will not continue to exist in the FBX. The key is to get the subserf to an ideal level BEFORE exporting.

Hello,

My first question is will this be a character in a a game? (Unreal Engine)
If so 1,000,000 VERTS! or even 600K is asking too much.

As yogyog suggests go back to the pre subsurf model. Also low poly game modelling is an art, subsurf is rarely if ever used.

When I look at the meshes, you have Solidify then Decimate modifiers. I would change the order in the stack Decimate then Solidify. YOU MUST apply the modifiers before export.

To ease your CPU cycles and frustration I would suggest a few LOW poly tests to better understand the workflow.

Kindest regards,

Pixeltwister