Autodesk is cutting the cost of developing 3D animated models for games dramatically by launching a light version of its Maya 3D tool for indie and mobile game developers. It now costs just $50 a month to rent it.
Autodesk Maya hands.
That pricing could help attract droves of new independent developers who focus on making 3D animated objects and characters for their mobile and online games. The new stripped-down version of Maya also brings Autodesk into the digital age. Like many other developers of high-end software, Autodesk is adapting to the new popularity of light versions of programs for mobile and app development.
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Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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