A physics software development kit (PSDK) provides scalable physics content as a “vertical” that defines one or more physics simulations for a graphics asset in a graphics scene. The vertical and the graphics asset may be provided in a verticals library associated with the PSDK or generated using the PSDK. The PSDK integrates the vertical into an existing graphics application to generate physically-realistic graphics content. The vertical may be scaled by a user according to the capabilities of a computer system that executes the PSDK or, alternatively, may be scaled by the PSDK based on received hardware capabilities information. The PSDK selectively offloads the physics simulations associated with the vertical to a physics processing unit to optimize usage of processor resources. In addition, the PSDK provides a technique to extract a graphics asset based on an existing 3D model of the object. The graphics asset may then be simulated with a vertical to provide a physical simulation of the 3D model of the object.