Released in November last year for Windows, LightWave 2023 marked the first update to the veteran 3D animation software since 2020 when its development was halted by the previous owner, Vizrt, which acquired the developer NewTek last year. The update introduces a node-based procedural modeling system, the Instancer brush for populating 3D scenes, and a new 3D text tool in the LightWave Layout application.

The release also includes several third-party tools, including the TurbulenceFD plugin for simulating gaseous liquids, a collection of plugins for the OD Tools workflow, now renamed to LightWave Pro Tools, and the ChronoSculpt application for creating animation cache sculpts. This update makes the current version of LightWave available again for Mac users.

LightWave Digital plans to release LightWave 2023 versions for both older Intel and modern Apple Silicon Macs. According to the release announcement blog post, the native Apple Silicon version promises "up to 53% faster rendering speeds," but currently lacks Python support, meaning it won't work with existing Python scripts and plugins, including LightWave Pro Tools.

Apple Silicon Mac users in need of Pro Tools can use the Intel version, which supports Python 2 and runs on M-Series processors using Apple's Rosetta translation environment. LightWave Digital reports that scripts and plugins in the native Python language are currently being updated to Python 3, after which Python support will be restored in the Apple Silicon build.

It's worth noting that the update actually slightly precedes the Mac versions compared to Windows, as the release - LightWave 2023.0.1 - will be available for macOS only. Several former third-party add-ons have been updated: TurbulenceFD has received new smoke and flame shaders, and Pro Tools now has "enhanced presets and workspaces." The Octane integration plugin, for the Otoy GPU renderer, has received an "improved user interface for use on high-resolution monitors and laptops."

LightWave 2023 is available for Windows 10 and above and macOS. The Intel version is compatible with macOS 10.15 and above, while the Apple Silicon version is compatible with macOS 11.0 and above. Octane requires macOS 13.3 and above. The cost of new perpetual licenses is around $1000.