World Machine: The Leading 3D Terrain Generation Software
October 2024: Exciting News! The latest 'Hurricane Ridge' dev release is now available. Enjoy tremendous performance improvements, and a brand new erosion model!

Simulate, Don't Sculpt

Use powerful tools like erosion to generate lifelike CG terrain.

Export to Unity, UE4/5, or your preferred software.

For over a decade, World Machine has been the preferred terrain generation solution for AAA game studios, VFX professionals, and independent artists alike.

Join thousands of artists who rely on World Machine to build their virtual worlds.

How World Machine Works

Unlike traditional brush-based terrain editors, World Machine uses a procedural approach. Shape the terrain using basic building blocks such as fractals... then hit them with simulations of nature to create realistic features.

Simply wire together action boxes to create your world.

Here's a great landscape created in less than two minutes.

Shape Your Terrain

Start with a hand-drawn mockup or design entirely within World Machine using our comprehensive suite of tools

  • Import from files or sculpt mountains with our intuitive tools
  • Add intricate details using fractal noise, then refine with advanced erosion simulations
  • Draw major rivers to automatically carve natural-looking river valleys
  • 70+ tools at your disposal.
    Explore All Features

Advanced Texturing

Achieve exceptional texturing by leveraging data generated during the erosion process.

Produce high-quality results swiftly with our built-in macros and presets, or customize intricate texturing networks tailored to your specific needs.

Whether you prefer megatextures or splat-map techniques, World Machine enables you to create realistic texture coverage for your terrain models.

Seamlessly Integrate

Import your terrains into your preferred 3D applications with our straightforward export process.

Export a variety of formats including meshes, heightmaps, megatexture-style bitmaps, splat maps, and weight maps.

Use output masks to guide vegeation or special areas.. the possibilies are endless.


Rapid Terrain Generation

Utilize a comprehensive suite of procedural tools to create terrains from scratch or import existing files as your foundation.

Draw Rivers & Sculpt Mountains

Take control of procedural elements by precisely drawing rivers and sculpting mountains to shape your unique landscapes.

Simulate Nature

Emulate real-world phenomena like erosion, talus slopes, and snow formations with our advanced simulation tools.

Graph-based Workflow

Non-destructive editing of your terrain by connecting together device nodes

Better Texturing

Sophisticated color schemes beyond height and slope controls

Export to Unity, Unreal Engine, Maya, 3DSMax...

Export your terrain to use with virtually any 3D software or game engine using heightfields, meshes, textures, weight maps...

A Few Stories

In Games...

Game designer Matthias Worch used World Machine to create terrain for the game Lair.

Why did you choose World Machine?

We were making flight games, [and] our editor had the industry standard array of terrain tools ... those tools quickly proved inefficient when we switched to the next generation of console hardware.

How did World Machine improve your work and workflow?

I'd back up a step, and say that World Machine made things possible that wouldn't have been possible at all. The erosion allowed us to create terrain detail that would have been impossible to paint by hand, and the "basic coverage" macros quickly generated masks we could use to generate textures to go along with the heightmap data. We had various macros that would take basic height data from the level designer and would spit out fully eroded and masked out terrains

In VFX...

Frederick Hopp and EightVFX used World Machine to help put together a television ad for HP's Summit on the Summit initiative.

World Machine's graph-based approach and rapid previewing is a huge help, allowing you to experiment with many different looks on the fly. The result... well, watch the video.

Frederick comments,

The miniature mountain is modelled in WM, as well as the background behind the people climbing, and the background of the packshot.
Shaded and rendered in Maya/MentalRay.

Better terrain awaits. Get started for free.

The Basic Edition of World Machine is free for personal, noncommercial use.

Upgrade to a full license to access all of World Machine’s advanced features.

Download Basic Edition Purchase Now!