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Foundry has just announced they will wind down the development of MODO. This animation and CG software will be discontinued by the end of the year, although users can obtain an extended 10-year license.
A Long History
At SIGGRAPH 2004, a new 3D software was unveiled: MODO. In 2012, Luxology, the company behind it, joined forces with Foundry, the company known for NUKE, MARI, and KATANA.
Despite a few updates since then, MODO has remained significantly less popular than its competitors. Foundry didn’t seem to allocate substantial resources to the tool, which clearly did not help its standing.
In a brief statement, Foundry announced that a final update, MODO 17.1, will be released by the end of the year. Foundry says the goal of the company, following this announcement, is to “focus on its core offerings and invest in new solutions that meet the evolving needs of the media and entertainment community”.
What about the users?
For the studios and artists using MODO, support will continue until the end of their current contracts. Foundry also specifies that users will have the option to acquire an extended license for up to 10 years if desired. However, users should not expect any patches, even if future operating system updates render the application unusable. Foundry explicitly states that it has no plans to address such issues and strongly encourages users to seek alternative solutions as soon as possible.
Another indication of this discontinuation is the planned removal of MODO’s forums in 2024. Official documentation and documentation will also disappear in November 2025.
Despite some users’ requests on social media, there are currently no plans to offer MODO for free or as open-source software. Like other tools such as Softimage, MODO will soon join the graveyard of computer graphics.
