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Maxon: Difference between revisions

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New article: Maxon Company page covering subscription licensing controversies and product discontinuations (via pipeline)
 
Update: Remove Autograph section to focus on highest-severity incidents only
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{{#seo:description=Maxon eliminates perpetual licenses for acquired products including ZBrush, Red Giant, and Forger, forcing subscriptions and locking users out of legacy files.}}
{{#seo:description=Maxon eliminates perpetual licenses for acquired products including ZBrush, Red Giant, and Forger, forcing subscriptions and locking users out of proprietary files.}}


{{CompanyCargo
{{CompanyCargo
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* Maxon acquired Pixologic, the developer of ZBrush, in December 2021.<ref name="zbrush-faq" /> In November 2023, Maxon released ZBrush 2024 exclusively via subscription at $39 per month or $359 per year, eliminating perpetual licenses that Pixologic had previously sold with free feature upgrades.<ref name="zbrush2024-cgchannel" />
* Maxon acquired Pixologic, the developer of ZBrush, in December 2021.<ref name="zbrush-faq" /> In November 2023, Maxon released ZBrush 2024 exclusively via subscription at $39 per month or $359 per year, eliminating perpetual licenses that Pixologic had previously sold with free feature upgrades.<ref name="zbrush2024-cgchannel" />
* In September 2021, Maxon discontinued perpetual licenses for [[Red Giant]] plugin suites without advance announcement, leaving only subscription options for new versions of Trapcode Suite, VFX Suite, and Magic Bullet Suite.<ref name="redgiant-cgchannel">{{Cite web |url=https://www.cgchannel.com/2021/09/maxon-ends-perpetual-licences-of-red-giant-products/ |title=Maxon ends perpetual licences of Red Giant products |date=2021-09-17 |website=CG Channel |access-date=2026-05-13}}</ref>
* In September 2021, Maxon discontinued perpetual licenses for [[Red Giant]] plugin suites without advance announcement, leaving only subscription options for new versions of Trapcode Suite, VFX Suite, and Magic Bullet Suite.<ref name="redgiant-cgchannel">{{Cite web |url=https://www.cgchannel.com/2021/09/maxon-ends-perpetual-licences-of-red-giant-products/ |title=Maxon ends perpetual licences of Red Giant products |date=2021-09-17 |website=CG Channel |access-date=2026-05-13}}</ref>
* In June 2025, Maxon acquired the team behind Autograph, a motion graphics application, as developer Left Angle shut down. The company's website and related channels went offline.<ref name="autograph-maxon">{{Cite web |url=https://www.maxon.net/en/article/autograph-acquisition |title=Maxon Welcomes Autograph Team Following Left Angle Transition |date=2025-06-05 |website=Maxon |access-date=2026-05-13}}</ref><ref name="autograph-80lv">{{Cite web |url=https://80.lv/articles/maxon-welcomes-autograph-team-following-left-angle-s-closure |title=Autograph Team Joins Maxon As Left Angle Shuts Down |date=2025-06-06 |website=80.lv |access-date=2026-05-13}}</ref> User reports indicated that license validation servers also became inaccessible, preventing some license holders from opening the software.<ref name="autograph-reddit">{{Cite web |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/MotionDesign/comments/1l4ofkf/maxon_acquires_leftangle_company_behind_the/ |title=Maxon acquires LeftAngle, company behind the Autograph software. Locks out customers. |website=Reddit |date=2025-06-05 |access-date=2026-05-13}}</ref>
== Incidents ==
== Incidents ==


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In September 2021, Maxon discontinued perpetual licenses for Trapcode Suite, VFX Suite, and Magic Bullet Suite without advance announcement. CG Channel reported that the change was only apparent when perpetual license purchase options vanished from the Maxon online store. When contacted, Maxon confirmed that it had "decided to not offer a perpetual version of the individual suites."<ref name="redgiant-cgchannel" /> Perpetual licenses of the previous versions remained available for $999, but the latest versions were accessible only via Red Giant Complete subscriptions at $79 per month or $599 per year, or via Maxon One subscriptions at $149 per month or $1,199 per year.<ref name="redgiant-cgchannel" />
In September 2021, Maxon discontinued perpetual licenses for Trapcode Suite, VFX Suite, and Magic Bullet Suite without advance announcement. CG Channel reported that the change was only apparent when perpetual license purchase options vanished from the Maxon online store. When contacted, Maxon confirmed that it had "decided to not offer a perpetual version of the individual suites."<ref name="redgiant-cgchannel" /> Perpetual licenses of the previous versions remained available for $999, but the latest versions were accessible only via Red Giant Complete subscriptions at $79 per month or $599 per year, or via Maxon One subscriptions at $149 per month or $1,199 per year.<ref name="redgiant-cgchannel" />
=== Autograph acquisition and server shutdown ===
In June 2025, the team behind Autograph, a motion graphics application developed by Left Angle, joined Maxon.<ref name="autograph-maxon" /> Concurrent with the acquisition, Left Angle wound down its business operations. A message from Left Angle posted on Maxon's website stated that "our website and all related channels will go offline."<ref name="autograph-maxon" /> Industry coverage from 80.lv noted that the acquisition details for the Autograph software itself remained unclear.<ref name="autograph-80lv" />
A Reddit post in r/MotionDesign reported that users were unable to access Autograph after the acquisition because Left Angle's license validation servers had gone down during the business closure.<ref name="autograph-reddit" /> Alexandre and Francois, co-founders of Left Angle, posted a response in the same thread:
<blockquote>''Let us say that it has been killing us that your service was interrupted when our license servers went down during the closing of our business. Let us also say that Maxon did not shut down our license server and discontinue the software -- they stepped into a difficult situation to help preserve a future for us.''</blockquote><ref name="autograph-reddit" />


== Products ==
== Products ==
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* [[Redshift]] renderer
* [[Redshift]] renderer
* Forger (discontinued September 2025)
* Forger (discontinued September 2025)
* Autograph
* [[Maxon One]] subscription bundle
* [[Maxon One]] subscription bundle


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INCIDENT_SCORE: ZBrush perpetual license elimination | 80/100 | Elimination of perpetual licenses after 20+ years of free upgrades, forced subscription
INCIDENT_SCORE: ZBrush perpetual license elimination | 80/100 | Elimination of perpetual licenses after 20+ years of free upgrades, forced subscription
INCIDENT_SCORE: Red Giant perpetual license discontinuation | 70/100 | Silent discontinuation, forced obsolescence
INCIDENT_SCORE: Red Giant perpetual license discontinuation | 70/100 | Silent discontinuation, forced obsolescence
INCIDENT_SCORE: Autograph acquisition and server shutdown | 65/100 | Server shutdown locking out license holders
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