The move is intended for Autodesk to gain a steadier foothold in the gaming entertainment market. "Softimage and its products are recognized as best-of-breed in the entertainment industry," said Autodesk Senior VP of Media & Entertainment Marc Petit. What does this mean for the Softimage brand? Petit says that it will provide a boost to the offerings out of their Games Technology Group, and Autodesk plans to continue offering several products from the Softimage line including XSI, Face Robot, Cat and Crosswalk. Other Softimage products and features could be included in future installments of other well known Autodesk assets.

How will this affect the end user? "As we have demonstrated since the acquisition of Alias in 2006, we’re committed to giving our customers choice when it comes to their 3D tools. We plan to maintain and grow the Softimage product line," says Petit. The development team is also being brought over as well to help continue adding to an already solid line of Softimage products, and all previous customers will still have support through Autodesk. Softimage will also take advantage of Autodesk's FBX format to provide interoperability between other Autodesk products, including 3D Studio Max and Maya. In the end, it will provide the end user yet another Autodesk option in the expanding realm of 3D authoring tools.

You can read further information on the acquisition at autodesk.com/softimage.

Beginning with AutoCad back in 1982, Autodesk has grown into a 3D powerhouse, with products in industries from Architecture to Manufacturing to Gaming. Some of the products they have obtained over the years include:

• Maya
• Mudbox
• Stitcher
• Kynapse
• Ecotect
• Softimage