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Kodon

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🏺 3D Sculpting · Art · Design · PC VR · Steam
⛔ Developer Closed · Likely Abandoned · Not Recommended

Kodon VR

A genuinely ambitious VR and desktop 3D sculpting platform from TenkLabs AS (Norway) — offering voxel sculpting, surface sculpting and low-poly editing in a single hybrid VR/desktop workflow. Once considered the most promising VR sculpting tool in development. However, TenkLabs AS is now permanently closed and Kodon has not received meaningful updates since late 2023. We cannot recommend purchasing it in its current state.

⛔ Dev closed Steam · PC VR (PCVR only) TenkLabs AS · Norway Steam: Mixed (64%) Early Access — no updates since 2023
Steam (check before buying) See Shapelab Max instead →
⛔ Developer Closed — Do Not Purchase Without Checking First

TenkLabs AS — the Norwegian company behind Kodon — is listed as permanently closed on Crunchbase (2025). Steam community discussions from mid-2025 confirm the developers were facing bankruptcy, with one community member noting it was "radio silent" since 2023 and calling it "unethical that this is still for sale" in its current Early Access state.

Our recommendation: do not purchase Kodon. If you need a professional VR 3D sculpting tool for schools, Shapelab Max is actively developed, stable and available on standalone Meta Quest — no PC required.

XR Rating
1.5
Platform: PC VR · Steam (Quest via Link only)  ·  Developer: TenkLabs AS (Norway — permanently closed)  ·  Steam: Mixed · 64% positive (378 reviews)  ·  Status: Abandoned Early Access
About Kodon

What Was Kodon?

Kodon was a genuinely ambitious 3D sculpting platform from TenkLabs AS, a Norwegian company founded in 2017. Its vision was distinctive and compelling: a hybrid VR and desktop sculpting tool that let artists switch seamlessly between sculpting in virtual reality and working on a traditional desktop with a pen tablet — without changing software. Within VR, it offered three modes in a single package: volumetric voxel sculpting (great for blocking out shapes), surface sculpting (for fine detail), and low-poly polygon editing.

At its best — and professional reviewers who tried it in 2023–24 were genuinely impressed — Kodon offered a sculpting feel that rivalled ZBrush and Nomad in VR, with natural brush responsiveness and an intelligent UI that took the creative medium seriously. A professional 3D artist writing a Steam review noted they sculpted a character in 15 minutes that would have taken an hour in traditional software. Another professional preferred Kodon to Adobe Medium, Gravity Sketch and Masterpiece VR on the strength of its tools and performance.

The core concept — still relevant: The hybrid VR/desktop workflow was Kodon's defining idea: block out a 3D concept in VR using natural hand movements, then switch to desktop for precise detail work, all inside the same software session. This is the workflow that makes VR sculpting genuinely useful in a professional and educational pipeline — not just a gimmick, but a real speedup. The concept informed the entire VR sculpting category and remains relevant when evaluating alternatives.

Unfortunately, Kodon spent several years in Early Access without reaching a stable 1.0 release. Development stalled in late 2023. By mid-2024 there had been no updates and the Discord was reporting financial difficulties. By 2025, TenkLabs AS was listed as permanently closed. The software remains for sale on Steam but is not being maintained, updated or supported.

User Feedback

The Good, the Bad and the Reality

Professional 3D artist (Jan 2024) — rated positive
"I've used ZBrush/Blender/Maya/Photoshop/Unreal daily. Sculpting in VR literally elevates your work to the next level... BY FAR the BEST. The brushes feel natural and responsive, the UI/UX is easy, gorgeous, and intuitive!"
Professional 3D artist (Feb 2024) — rated positive
"I sculpted a character that would have previously taken me at least an hour in about 15 minutes. It feels amazing to use!"
Same professional 3D artist — continued
"...I clicked save. Came back an hour later. 20 minutes still loading. Reboot — file opens with nothing in the scene. I check the folder and the file is 1KB."
Note: A save bug (requiring remesh before saving) affected some workflows. The developer was aware but the fix was never fully resolved.
Steam community (June 2025) — on abandonment
"OK yeah this is probably abandoned now — talk on Discord that the devs are facing bankruptcy. I consider it unethical that this is still for sale. My recommendation: just use Shapelab instead."

The picture that emerges is of a genuinely impressive tool — praised lavishly by professional 3D artists for its feel, speed and concept — that was chronically unstable, never made it out of Early Access, and is now orphaned by a closed developer. At its best it was one of the most exciting VR creative tools in development. At its worst it lost user work through save bugs and crashed unpredictably. It is now neither.

Alternatives

What Should Schools Use Instead?

🏆 Shapelab Max — Recommended
Actively developed · Stable
Meta Quest 3 standalone
No PC needed
Polygon + voxel dual engine
Export to Blender / Unity
Education discounts
82% Very Positive on Steam
Gravity Sketch
Meta Quest + PC VR
Focused on industrial design
Collaborative multiplayer
Free tier available
Strong for DT / Engineering
Nomad Sculpt
iPad / Android · Not VR
Best-in-class mobile sculpting
Highly stable and polished
Great for Art / DT classes
No headset needed
Our verdict: For schools wanting VR 3D sculpting, Shapelab Max is the right choice in 2025/26 — it runs on standalone Quest 3 without a PC, is actively developed by Leopoly, offers education discounts, and exports to all major 3D pipelines. Everything Kodon aspired to be, now delivered by a stable, supported platform.
XR School Verdict
Concept (when active)9/10
Current stability1/10
Developer support0/10
Value for money0/10
Recommend purchasing?No
Bottom line: Kodon was one of the most promising VR sculpting platforms ever developed — genuinely ahead of its time with a hybrid workflow that no competitor has fully replicated. Its closure is a genuine loss for the field. But it is abandoned, unstable and unsupported. Do not purchase it. Use Shapelab Max instead.
🏆
Use Shapelab Max Instead
Actively developed · Quest 3 standalone · Education discounts
Current Status
DeveloperPermanently closed
Last updateLate 2023
StatusAbandoned Early Access
Steam scoreMixed — 64% (378)
PlatformPC VR · Steam only
Purchase?⛔ Not recommended
What Kodon Had (Past Tense)
✓ Genuinely brilliant hybrid VR/desktop concept
✓ Voxel + surface + poly modes in one app
✓ Praised by professional 3D artists
✓ Outstanding sculpting feel and speed
✗ Developer closed — TenkLabs permanently shut
✗ No updates since late 2023
✗ Known save bugs — risk of losing work
✗ Frequent crashes reported
✗ Steam: Mixed 64% — not majority positive
✗ PC VR only — no standalone Quest
✗ Unethical to still be for sale per community
© The XR School · VR & AR Apps for Education