3ds Max 2025 review: a solid update but don't expect new tools

3ds Max 2025 is the new version to Autodesk's premier modelling, animation and rendering software, and this year's edition looks to enhance what's here with tools to save you time rather than a offering a slew of new features.   

While last year's release, found in our 3ds Max 2024 review, was a substantial and significant update, which introducted a new Boolean modifier, plus an improved array modifier, and a variety of improvements to the slate material editor, it's not always the case a new Max means new features.

3ds Max 2025 includes a range of updates across the retopology tools, colour management, and its Universal Scene Description (USD) implementation. Other than a new Menu Editor, there’s little that’s novel about this update. But does it mean you should overlook this industry-standard software?

3ds Max 2025 review: what's to love?

Overall, this new version represents a clear effort to keep 3ds Max at the forefront of emerging technologies rather than any clear new features. Nothing surprising there for a decades-old piece of software that has always alternated between introducing new tools and developing existing features.

The retopology tools were introduced in 3ds Max 2021.3 and have since gone from strength to strength. Automatic retopologising of meshes is an indispensable part of any artist’s workflow and is something that has gained increasing prominence in modelling software these past few years. These tools don’t completely eliminate the need for manual intervention, but it’s now much quicker to perform a mesh cleanup.

Further improvements will be particularly welcome to those who work a lot with 3D scanned objects, as well as in 3D printing workflows (read our article on 3D printing). Being able to transform a horribly tessellated mesh into a clean alternative that’s perfect for exporting to a real-time engine or rendering meshes cleanly is a welcome addition.

Retopology improvements made include the introduction of pre-processing and Open VDB remeshing as standalone processes. Artists that use Autodesk’s ReForm algorithm for retopologising will now also benefit from speed boosts of up to 8%.

Artists who want to hold on to a previous version of 3ds Max while still being able to benefit from the new version of the retopology tools can download it as a separate installer from their Autodesk account. This implementation is a win for those who don’t want to be forced into always adopting the latest version of the software.

Moving on from mesh improvements, VFX artists will also be glad to see increased support for USD. 3ds Max was a fairly early adopter of this way of describing scenes, but it’s great to see that the devs are continuing to support and improve on it.

This time around, we see the added ability for artists to import animations, including animated lights and cameras, as well as blendShapes. It’s also possible to select and move USD primitives directly in the Viewport, something that further strengthens the implementation for artists who use the USD workflow. These types of changes will help attract more artists over to USD as it becomes more cemented in people’s minds.

We also have improved GPU rendering in Arnold. These performance improvements have come from utilising OptiX 8, particularly pertinent to scaling on multiple GPUs. The option to open more than one render session goes a long way towards speeding up render testing and working through multiple look and feel options.

Speed improvements in the actual rendering process have come thanks to the adoption of dithered samples that generate cleaner results at lower anti-aliasing sample counts. Any renderer that reduces render times while improving quality is a big win.

Nowhere near as sexy but still important is the new Menu Editor, which allows for customisation. It takes time to work out what menus and items you might need in your workflow, but once completed, it provides a well streamlined workflow. The temptation for artists can be to always crack on with ‘actual’ modelling or visualising, but at times it’s so worth taking a step back to see how you can speed up the creation process.

Equally helpful for speeding up workflows is the overhaul to the global search system. This way of working is becoming increasingly common, and 3ds Max is fully embracing it. In version 2025, we now see a list of the last five commands that have been used. I’d highly recommend taking a look.

If you're keen to try 3ds Max 2025 then you may need to upgrade to one of the best laptops for animation, and perhaps invest in one of the best drawing tablets we recommend. 

This content originally appeared in 3D World magazine, the world's leading CG art magazine. Subscribe to 3D World at Magazines Direct.