Cinema 4D

Maxon, the developer of Cinema 4D, was founded in 1985 by German students Harald Egel, Uwe Bärtels and Harald Schneider as a publishing company that published the Atari ST computer magazine ST-Computer, which held programming contests. Philip Losch recalled that when he and his brother Christian joined with their project, Maxon had already turned from a magazine into a software publisher whose products included CAD software, word processing software, games and some small tools.⁠[1][1][2][2]

German brothers Christian and Philip Losch wanted to enter a programming contest and chose between a spreadsheet program and a ray tracer with a coin flip, starting development in 1989 of a ray tracer called FastRay on the Commodore Amiga. With no existing resources to follow, the two taught themselves software development by requesting microfilms at the library, waiting several weeks and then reading them and taking notes. In 1990 the brothers entered the ray tracer in Kickstart magazine’s monthly programming contest and won; FastRay 1.0 was released on the Amiga in 1991.⁠[1][2][3][1]

Two years after FastRay, Cinema 4D 1.0 was released on the Amiga in 1993, followed over the next few years by version 1.5 and V2.⁠[1][3]

As the Amiga and Atari platforms declined in the mid-1990s, Maxon planned in 1995 to port Cinema 4D to the PC, with a new team of programmers developing an entirely new, operating-system-independent architecture. Cinema 4D V4, released in 1996, supported Windows, Alpha NT, Macintosh and Amiga and was also the first multi-processor version; version 4.2 in 1997 was the last version released exclusively for the Amiga, and the same year saw the release of Cinema 4D XL V5, the first version aimed at professional production.⁠[1][3][3][3][3][3]

In 1999, the German building software company Nemetschek went public and acquired Maxon the same year; Maxon has since been a brand of the Nemetschek Group, and it introduced BodyPaint in 2000.⁠[4][5][1]

Cinema 4D R8, released in 2002, adopted a modular system with modules such as Advanced Render, PyroCluster, MOCCA and Thinking Particles; R8.5 followed the next year together with BodyPaint 3D R2 and the Sketch and Toon module.⁠[3][3]

In 2006, Maxon introduced the MoGraph motion graphics module in Cinema 4D R9.6, providing cloner tools and effectors. MoGraph later became Cinema 4D’s signature toolset in broadcast and motion design.⁠[3][6][7]

In 2007, Cinema 4D was released as a Universal Binary for Intel-powered Macs; R11 in 2008 added 64-bit architecture support, and R11.5 introduced MoGraph 2 and bucket rendering; R13 in 2011 added a Physical Render engine with settings for ISO, f-stop and shutter speed; and R14 in 2012 added sculpting tools and enhanced dynamics.⁠[3][3][3][3]

Cinema 4D R20, released in 2018, introduced node-based materials and MoGraph Fields and made CAD data import possible. In July of that year, Nemetschek acquired the remaining 30 percent of Maxon and installed new leadership.⁠[3][3][8]

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences gave Cinema 4D’s MoGraph module a Technical Achievement Award (Academy Certificate), honoring its principal architect Per-Anders Edwards for the initial design and development of the MoGraph toolset, which the Academy said provides a fast, non-destructive and intuitive workflow for motion designers, as used for title design and fictional user interfaces in motion pictures. Edwards accepted the award on February 9, 2019, at the Beverly Wilshire in Beverly HillsBeverly HillsBeverly Hills is an incorporated city in Los Angeles County, California, known for its film-industry residents, Rodeo Drive shopping district and hotels. Incorporated on January 28, 1914, it covers about 5.71 square miles and recorded 32,701 residents in the 2020 census. It operates under a council–manager system. The Metro D Line extension reached Wilshire/La Cienega in May 2026.Open the full entry.⁠[6][6][6][9]

In April 2019, Maxon and its parent company Nemetschek acquired Redshift Rendering Technologies, the Newport Beach, California–based developer of the Redshift GPU renderer. Maxon CEO David McGavran said Redshift’s speed and efficiency combined with Cinema 4D’s responsive workflow made it a perfect match for the company’s portfolio. The same year, Maxon simplified its licensing and offered Cinema 4D R21 as a single comprehensive version.⁠[10][8][10][3]

In December 2019, Maxon and Red Giant, a developer of video effects tools, announced that they would merge under the media and entertainment division of the Nemetschek Group; the merger was completed on February 18, 2020, after which Cinema 4D co-creator Philip Losch became Maxon’s Chief Technology Officer.⁠[11][12][12]

Cinema 4D R25, released in 2021, updated the interface icons and color schemes and offered procedural geometry construction tools through its Scene Nodes core; S26 in 2022 further optimized the Redshift integration. On January 12, 2022, Maxon completed its acquisition of Pixologic, the Los Angeles–based developer of ZBrush. In September of that year, the Maxon One fall update brought Cinema 4D 2023, with simulation advancements, modeling with symmetry and native OCIO support.⁠[3][3][3][13][14]

In January 2026, Maxon published a profile of Philip Losch noting that Cinema 4D was now 36 years from its conception. Losch said that product decisions begin and end with the customer and that the biggest mistake is adding features for their own sake; he described AI’s role as supporting creative decision-making rather than replacing it.⁠[2][2][2]

In April 2026, Maxon released Cinema 4D 2026.2, whose main new feature is the Fabric Brush, a physics-based sculpting tool driven by the cloth simulation system, along with native support for ARM processors on Windows; the Redshift renderer was by then included with all Cinema 4D subscriptions. Maxon also revealed more details of Cinema 4D for iPad and opened beta registration; it requires an iPad with an M2 or later chip and is due for commercial release in late 2026. Version 2026.2 supports Windows 10 and macOS 14.0 and later, is available by subscription only, and costs $109 a month or $839 a year.⁠[15][15][15][15][15][15]

Maxon previewed its fall updates at IBC2026, held September 11–14, 2026, at RAI Amsterdam. According to Maxon, Cinema 4D had recently added a redesigned UV Editor (with unwrapping, packing, seam editing, texel density tools and UDIM support), new Cloner distribution modes such as Edge and UV Projection, and the Fabric Brush.⁠[16][16][16][16]

Cinema 4D 2026.4, released in September 2026, added a built-in MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that, once switched on, lets compatible AI assistants operate Cinema 4D’s own tools for repetitive, procedural and iterative tasks; it officially supports Claude Desktop and ChatGPT Desktop and can also connect to locally run models. The server is disabled by default, access can be set across 15 groups of tools, and everything the AI assistant does is visible, undoable and recorded in a local audit log; Maxon’s documentation stresses that it is not a generative system and does not invent designs or produce imagery. It is available only in the full version of Cinema 4D, not in the Lite edition bundled with After Effects.⁠[17][18][19][19][19][18][18][18]

On October 9, 2026, under an animation demo posted on its X account, HiggsfieldHiggsfieldHiggsfield is an AI visual-content company founded in 2023 and headquartered in San Francisco. Beginning with the Diffuse mobile app, it developed a browser-based production platform for creators, marketing teams and enterprises, combining proprietary and third-party models for images, video, storyboards, character consistency and multi-step creative work.Open the full entry said that creating this kind of animation had always required a set of tools such as After Effects, Blender and Cinema 4D, but could now be done using only Claude and Higgsfield KatanaKatana (Higgsfield)Katana is a Claude skill launched by Higgsfield on October 8, 2026, that runs inside Claude through the Higgsfield MCP: users pick a preset or upload a reference edit, add images of characters, products or clothing, and generate videos in aura-farming, motion graphics or clipping styles. Higgsfield says it is powered by Anthropic’s Claude Motion and is the company’s most powerful AI video editing tool.Open the full entry, stressing that no video generation was used and that it was all code.⁠[20][20][20]

As of October 2026, the latest version of Cinema 4D listed on Maxon’s website was 2027.0, whose new features include Scatter, a procedural scattering system that avoids overlaps and works with MoGraph Effectors and Fields; Liquid FX, a secondary-effects system for liquids that automatically generates foam, spray and bubbles; the Redshift Fur system; expanded CAD format import; and Nodes Field and Nodes Effector objects for building custom Fields and Effectors with node graphs.⁠[17][17][17][17][17][17][17]

Cinema 4D is used for 3D modeling, animation, simulation and rendering, and its subscription includes the Redshift renderer, five Team Render nodes and Maxon Capsules assets. Maxon positions it as 3D software built for motion graphics, with users including motion designers, 3D artists, visual designers, VFX artists and architectural visualization specialists; it offers native After Effects integration, and Cineware brings Cinema 4D scenes into AdobeAdobeAdobe (Adobe Inc.) is a software company headquartered in San Jose, California, founded in 1982 by John Warnock and Charles Geschke. Known for PostScript, PDF and creative software such as Acrobat, Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro and After Effects, it moved its main creative products to Creative Cloud subscriptions from 2013 and expanded into digital marketing and generative AI; it is listed on Nasdaq under the ticker ADBE.Open the full entry applications. Cinema 4D is also part of the Maxon One bundle, which further includes ZBrush, Redshift, Red Giant and Universe.⁠[5][7][7][7][7][7][5]

Cinema 4D: Official website: https://www.maxon.net/en/cinema-4d (opens in a new window).⁠[7]

Maxon: Official website: https://www.maxon.net/ (opens in a new window).⁠[21][5]

Nemetschek Group: Official website: https://www.nemetschek.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[4]