LightWave to get new proprietor

Friday, April seventh, 2023 | Posted by Jim Thacker

Veteran 3D animation software program LightWave will quickly have a brand new proprietor.

Lightwave Digital, a brand new group headed by former Darkside studio boss Andrew Bishop, is to amass the software program from present proprietor Vizrt, in a deal set to shut on 27 April 2023.

The transfer ought to see improvement of LightWave restart, following greater than two years of inactivity, with LightWave Digital taking up the prevailing product web site, and its gross sales and help channels.

A brand new chapter for one of many VFX business’s longest-established 3D purposes
Launched in 1990, and out there as a standalone software since 1994, Lightwave was one of many first skilled 3D purposes out there for PCs in addition to the then-standard Silicon Graphics workstations.

It gained a powerful following in broadcast visible results, the place it was used on TV sequence like Babylon 5, Star Trek: Voyager and Battlestar Galactica, and though not as extensively adopted in film pipelines, was used within the manufacturing of Sin City, 300 and Avatar, and animated options together with Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius.

Nonetheless, the variety of studios utilizing LightWave declined via the 2000s and 2010s, and after unique developer NewTek was purchased by real-time graphics agency Vizrt, improvement was suspended in 2020.

Deal to amass LightWave from Vizrt anticipated to finish on 27 April 2023
Information of the change of possession was introduced earlier this week, through a post on the Lightwave 3D – Salvation Fb group directing customers to a Discord server titled ‘Welcome to the Way forward for LightWave’.

In line with the FAQs section of the server, the deal is predicted to shut on 27 April, with LightWave Digital taking up possession and restarting improvement of the software program.

The present LightWave web site, product help channels and reseller community may even switch to LightWave Digital, with “no change for current license holders [expected] consequently”.

New possession staff headed by former Darkside studio boss Andrew Bishop
The brand new staff is headed by business veteran Andrew Bishop, beforehand co-owner of LightWave-using VFX studio Darkside and its offshoots, and in addition beforehand liable for the distribution of LightWave within the UK.

In a post on the LightWave forum, Bishop feedback that he was requested by “a senior member of the Newtek staff … to place collectively a staff to save lots of LightWave”.

The brand new improvement roadmap for the software program and sensible particulars like pricing is not going to be made public till after the acquisition is accomplished.

Nonetheless, Bishop feedback on Discord that the brand new staff – which incorporates different LightWave veterans like former beta co-ordinator Deuce Bennett – has “been planning for 3 years – fascinated with issues we need to repair and issues we need to add”.

Visit the Welcome to the Future of LightWave Discord server

Tags: 3D animation, acquisition, Andrew Bishop, buyout, Darkside, LightWave, LightWave Digital, new proprietor, NewTek, vfx, visible results, Vizrt