3ds Max

Autodesk released 3D Studio for DOS on Halloween 1990. The software was developed by the Yost Group led by Gary Yost; its code name, THUD, came from programmer Tom Hudson.⁠[1]

The Yost Group was formed by Gary Yost with Jack Powell and others and was later acquired by Autodesk. The DOS version supported standalone plug-in modules developed by third parties.⁠[2]

According to Gary Yost, after the team learned that Windows NT 3.1 would be released in summer 1993, it decided to re-architect the software; once the fourth DOS release shipped in mid-1994, the team concentrated on the new product.⁠[3]

3D Studio MAX was released for the 32-bit Windows platform in April 1996, adding real-time animation in the viewport; Yost said the first release took about 15 months of actual development.⁠[3][1]

That year Autodesk renamed its multimedia division Kinetix; the product shipped as “Kinetix 3D Studio MAX” and became the division’s flagship.⁠[2][1]

Lost in Space became the first film to use 3D Studio MAX R2 for visual effects. 3D Studio VIZ, released the same year, targeted fields such as architecture, landscape design and mechanical design.⁠[1][2]

After acquiring Discreet Logic, Autodesk established its Discreet division.⁠[2]

Discreet 3ds max 4 went on sale, incorporating features gained through Autodesk’s acquisition of Discreet Logic. The first Halo video game, released the same year, was also made with the aid of the software.⁠[1]

Autodesk renamed its Discreet division Autodesk Media and Entertainment, and former Autodesk software products were renamed accordingly, with 3D Studio Max becoming Autodesk 3ds max.⁠[4]

At SIGGRAPH 2005, Autodesk presented 3ds Max 8 as the newest version of its professional 3D animation software.⁠[5]

3ds Max was used to visualize the new One World Trade Center using data from AutoCAD and Revit.⁠[1]

The 3ds Max 2015 release combined features for architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) and for media and entertainment (M&E) into a single product.⁠[1]

Autodesk released 3ds Max 2027, adding the Smart Bevel system, which handles meshes from Boolean operations more cleanly, the Noise Plus modifier, and Field Helper, which works with the Volume Select modifier, along with an early technical preview of Autodesk Assistant, a documentation-searching chatbot.⁠[6]

The 3ds Max 2027.1 update revised the Smart Bevel tool and changed the Data Channel modifier.⁠[7]

Autodesk says 3ds Max is used for game development, film and television productions, and design visualization projects, with its modeling tools popular for architectural and product visualization; users quoted on its product page include Industrial Light & Magic and Playground Games, which said that almost all of the content in Forza Horizon 5 was created in 3ds Max.⁠[8]

3ds Max 2027 runs only on Windows 11 and is offered by subscription, with an Indie subscription available to eligible individuals.⁠[6]

3ds Max: Official website: https://www.autodesk.com/products/3ds-max/overview (opens in a new window)⁠[8]