3ds Max 2025 - Subscription

What's New

OCIO Color Management OpenColorIO is the now default mode for color management in new scenes. This makes it easier than ever to implement a modern color pipeline.	Updated Global Search feature The global search has been modernized to provide expanded functionality such as displaying the last 5 used items, extended results with toolclips, double clicking to enact commands and ability to dock the search window.	Retopology Tools for 3ds Max 1.5 The updated Retopology Tools for 3ds Max introduces preprocessing and OpenVDB remeshing as stand-alone processes alongside improvements to processing time when using Autodesk ReForm.
Menu Editor 3ds Max has a new Menu Editor as part of its new menu customization system.	USD for 3ds Max 0.7 Plug-in Updated Universal Scene Description (USD) plug-in allows artists to import animations, including animated light and camera, as well as blendShape.	Arnold for 3ds Max 5.7.0.0 3ds Max 2025 includes MAXtoA 5.7.0.0, which introduces Arnold 7.3.0.0 core.

Key Features

Polygon modeling - Create 3D props, vehicles, and characters with geometry based on vertices, edges, and faces. Procedural modeling - Quickly build complex surfaces for cityscapes, forests, and landscapes using automated modeling. Interactive viewports - Reduce design iterations with render-quality viewport previews of PBR materials and camera effects. High-quality materials - Make realistic objects with Physically Based Rendering, Open Shading Language, and Bake to Texture. Integrated Arnold renderer - Render complex scenes and designs with Arnold for 3ds Max. Multiple file format support - Easily share assets with support for file formats like glTF, USD, FBX, CAD formats, and more.

Features

3D Modeling

• Retopology tools - Automatically reconstruct polygonal mesh data as clean quad-based topology with uncompromising accuracy. These tools can be used to reduce complex and high-resolution assets and enhance generative designs and traditional modeling work inside of 3ds Max. 
• Smart Extrude - Interactively extrude faces on 3D objects using flexible Smart Extrude operations like cut-through and overlap. Rebuild and stitch adjacent faces automatically without needing to manually repair hidden faces or geometric data. 
• Mesh and surface modeling - Create parametric and organic objects with polygon, subdivision surface, and spline-based modeling features. 
• Modifier stack workflow - Rapidly conceptualize, iterate, and explore design ideas using a range of unique modifiers. 
• Spline workflows - Create and animate geometry in several intuitive ways with spline tools. 

Texturing and shading

• Open Shading Language (OSL) support - Generate high-quality textures that display accurately in the viewport using new or pre-existing OSL maps with any supported renderer.
• Baking to texture - Experience a streamlined, intuitive, and fully scriptable texture baking experience with support for PBR (physically based rendering) materials, overrides, and OSL workflows.
• Material editor - Add material finishes, change textures, and use vibrant colors to create photorealistic designs.
• Lighting - Illuminate and enhance your scenes using photometric lights and standard lights.

3D rendering

• Integrated Arnold renderer - Use the Arnold GPU renderer to view scene changes in real time, including lighting, materials, and camera.
• Interactive viewports - Reduce design iteration with render-quality viewport previews, displaying PBR (physically based rendering) materials and camera effects directly.
• ActiveShade viewport - With an interactive rendering experience, see your scene in a near-final rendering quality as you’re working.
• Physical camera - Simulate real-life camera settings such as shutter speed, aperture, depth of field, and exposure.
• Scene converter - Seamlessly and consistently change materials, lights, cameras, and renderers from one to another. 

Animation and effects

• Character animation tools - Create procedural character animations and rigs with CAT (character animation toolkit), biped, and crowd tools.
• Motion paths - Preview and adjust animation paths directly in the viewport.
• 3ds Max fluids - Create realistic liquid behaviors, such as water, oil, and lava, as well as replicate gravity and collision effects.
• Particle flow effects - Create sophisticated particle effects such as water, fire, spray, and snow.
• Extensive plug-in library - Access hundreds of industry-leading third-party plug-ins from our extensive community.

Workflow and pipeline

• Software security - Use Safe Scene Script Execution to protect your work against malicious scripts that could be part of scene files and the Malware Removal functionality, which detects and removes known malicious scripts from scene files and start-up scripts.
• Python 3 - Get tighter pipeline integration with support for Python 3.
• Pipeline integration support - Easily customize 3ds Max to fit your production pipeline needs.
• Modern UI and workspaces - Create your own custom workspaces with a more modern, responsive, high-DPI-ready user interface.
• GL Transmission Format (glTF) support - Publish assets from your 3ds Max scene to glTF 3D content for use in web applications, online stores, browser games, and other online outlets.