What's new around Blender.https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-in-2026/?utm_medium=news<div class="entry-content" morss_own_score="4.713763702801462" morss_score="155.2352746579814"> html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd" <p>It is that time of year again. You may be enjoying a scorching hot summer, the serenity of snow, or something in between. For those of you staying inside, buckle up. There is a lot to look forward to!</p> <hr> <a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-in-2026/?utm_medium=news#2025-releases"><h2>2025 Releases</h2></a> <p>Before we start with the fresh new targets, let’s take a moment and admire what was put out into the world last year. With no surprises, the release schedule went <a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-2025/#releases">as planned</a> with three annual major releases.</p> <a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-in-2026/?utm_medium=news#blender-44"><h2><a href="https://www.blender.org/press/blender-4-4-release/">Blender 4.4</a></h2></a> <p><em>March 18th, 2025</em></p> <figure><img src="https://www.blender.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/splash.webp"><figcaption>Blender 4.4 splash artwork Flow©</figcaption><figcaption>Dream Well Studio, Sacrebleu Productions, Take Five</figcaption><figcaption>Image licensed under CC-BY-SA – <a href="https://flow.movie/">flow.movie</a></figcaption></figure> <ul> <li>Animation slots.</li> <li>Compositor CPU rewrite.</li> <li>Grease Pencil v3 feature parity.</li> <li>Video Sequencer text editing improvements.</li> <li>Over 700 issues addressed.</li> </ul> <a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-in-2026/?utm_medium=news#blender-45-lts"><h2><a href="https://www.blender.org/press/blender-4-5-lts-release/">Blender 4.5 LTS</a></h2></a> <p><em>July 15th, 2025</em></p> <figure><img src="https://www.blender.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/blender_splash_45.webp"><figcaption>Blender 4.5 LTS splash artwork “DOGWALK” by <a href="https://studio.blender.org/">Blender Studio</a>.</figcaption></figure> <ul> <li>Full Vulkan support.</li> <li>Faster startup and EEVEE shader compilation.</li> <li>Grease Pencil compositor pass.</li> <li>Enhancements to the animation timeline.</li> <li>Importing multiple formats in Geometry Nodes.</li> <li>UV visibility in all modes.</li> <li>Faster Video Sequencer with HDR support.</li> <li>Compositor procedural nodes.</li> <li>Nearly 400 bugs fixed.</li> </ul> <a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-in-2026/?utm_medium=news#blender-50"><h2><a href="https://www.blender.org/press/blender-5-0-release">Blender 5.0</a></h2></a> <p><em>November 18th, 2025</em></p> <figure><img src="https://www.blender.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/blender_50_splash.webp"><figcaption>Blender 5.0 splash artwork by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/donchuan3d">Juan Hernández</a><br></figcaption></figure> <ul> <li>ACES pipeline.</li> <li>Improved HDR capabilities.</li> <li>UV Sync.</li> <li>New volumes and SDF nodes in Geometry Nodes.</li> <li>Storyboarding template and workflow (scene sync).</li> <li>New modifiers, such as Array and Scatter on Surface.</li> <li>Compositor creative effects assets.</li> <li>Animation and rigging improvements.</li> <li>VR scene inspection, vignetting, and snap turns.</li> <li>Nearly 600 bugs fixed.</li> </ul> <hr> <p>The result was a combination of new features, stability, performance enhancements, planned project and long-standing issues.</p> <p>In addition, 2025 saw 20 <a href="https://www.blender.org/download/lts/">LTS</a> releases across Blender 3.6 LTS, 4.2 LTS, and 4.5 LTS.</p> <a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-in-2026/?utm_medium=news#looking-back"><h2>Looking Back</h2></a> <p>If you compare what was released with <a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-2025/">last year’s projects announcements</a>, you may notice that some features weren’t even announced.</p> <figure><img src="https://www.blender.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2024_projects_banner-1280x480.jpg"></figure> <p>On the one hand, this is good news. It reflects the dynamic nature of Blender development, with modules working closely with community developers and artists who can steer the project in unexpected ways. These contributions often lead to the discovery of new talent who could eventually become full-time developers. So, the more, the merrier.</p> <p>On the other hand, not all of the announced projects were completed and released. The reasons are plenty: overly optimistic (and ambitious) targets, over-scoping, unclear designs or scope, missed deadlines, limited resources, shifting priorities, my-dog-ate-my-homework, you name it. There is no sugarcoating it. There is room for improvement, and we aim to do even better this year.<br></p> <p>That said, it is in the spirit of the Blender project to propose targets that serve as a beacon, helping focus the community’s efforts toward common goals. So, without further ado, let’s unveil what the team has planned, aim for the stars, and see where we land.</p><p>The proposed projects for this year are organized into the following areas:</p> <hr> <a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-in-2026/?utm_medium=news#storytelling"><h2>Storytelling</h2></a> <p>As a follow-up to Story Tools and Compositor node-modifiers, expect more <strong>video sequencer improvements</strong> – GPU support, sequencer effects, media bins, ripple and three points editing.</p> <figure><img src="https://www.blender.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/image-2-1280x802.png"><figcaption>Story Tools early Mockup.</figcaption></figure> <a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-in-2026/?utm_medium=news#world-building-and-asset-creation"><h2>World Building and Asset Creation</h2></a> <p>Improved texture workflow with <strong>3D brush</strong>, and the beginning of <strong>layered textures</strong>.</p> <p>The latter is not straightforward. Its <a href="https://code.blender.org/2022/02/layered-textures-design/">original design dates back to 2022</a>, and it was held back until it could receive proper attention. While it won’t land in Blender this year, features like a revamped baking workflow are on the horizon.<br></p> <p>On the rendering side, this is the year NPR will shine brighter. <strong><a href="https://code.blender.org/2025/05/npr-project/">Non-Photorealistic Rendering</a></strong> was prototyped and iterated over in 2024-2025, and it is now ready for development.</p><a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-in-2026/?utm_medium=news#animation"><h2>Animation</h2></a> <p>After a hiatus, <strong>animation layers</strong> are back on the menu. The initial goal is to expose this functionality in the Action Editor, building on existing features. The design is being finalized and work is expected to start during Q2.</p> <a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-in-2026/?utm_medium=news#lighting-rendering-and-compositing"><h2>Lighting, Rendering and Compositing</h2></a> <p>The Cycles <strong>texture cache</strong> is in its final stages of development, and will make rendering with many high resolution textures much more efficient. This has been a long requested feature. This will be followed by new principled features and a new OpenPBR node.</p> <p>Also worth mentioning is a new approach for <strong>Scene Layered Compositing</strong>. Imagine a stack of effects similar to the new Compositor modifier in the Video Sequencer Editor. It’s so similar, in fact, that an effect designed for the sequencer will also work for the scene.</p> <p>There are still nodes under the hood, but artists shouldn’t need to deal with them (only if they want to). This is similar to how the new <a href="https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/5.0/modeling/modifiers/generate/array.html">Geometry Nodes Array</a> modifier lets artists focus on the big picture of the intended “effect”, while others can dive into the nodes for extra flexibility and power. To each their own – and to everyone, Blender! :)</p> <a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-in-2026/?utm_medium=news#collaboration"><h2>Collaboration</h2></a> <p><strong>Online assets</strong> will arrive in Blender in the first half of the year. Opening the door to natively extending Blender with materials, collections, and more from the internet. The Blender Foundation will host a small library of assets on the extensions platform, and third-party platforms can adopt a similar solution.</p> <p><strong>Project Setup</strong> reached its initial milestone in 2025 with variables and <a href="https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/files/file_paths.html#path-templates">path templates</a>. Next up is a dedicated project editor and shared project settings, like assets, add-ons, and project-specific variables.</p> <p>Finally, overrides will be revisited based <a href="https://code.blender.org/2024/12/the-future-of-overrides/">on the late-2024 design</a>. A new system, nicknamed <strong>dynamic override</strong>, will allow for more flexible runtime-defined tweaks. This may also better accommodate simpler single-character rigs, providing an experience similar to the old (pre-2.80 old!) proxy system.</p> <figure><img src="https://www.blender.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/overrides.webp"><figcaption>Overrides mockup, the final user interface will change.</figcaption></figure> <a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-in-2026/?utm_medium=news#virtual-reality"><h2>Virtual Reality</h2></a> <p><strong>Location scouting</strong> <a href="https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/issues/141089">began</a> last year but was put on hold to focus on wrapping up VR locomotion improvements. The latter will arrive in Blender 5.1 and are already familiar to all <a href="https://builder.blender.org/">brave early-adopters</a>.</p> <p>Location scouting itself was demoed as a prototype at the Blender Conference 2025 and is expected in the first half of this year.</p> <figure><img src="https://www.blender.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/location_scouting.webp"><figcaption>Location Scouting mockup.</figcaption></figure> <p>Meanwhile, <strong>Vulkan and OpenXR</strong> interoperability <a href="https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/issues/152482">will start</a> in parallel, bringing the XR experience up to par with Blender’s other graphics improvements.</p> <a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-in-2026/?utm_medium=news#interactivity"><h2>Interactivity</h2></a> <p><strong>Hair dynamics</strong> <a href="https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/issues/141609">development</a> continues to make progress, building on the work already highlighted as a target last year. While <a href="https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/render/shader_nodes/utilities/closure.html">Closures</a> and <a href="https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/interface/controls/nodes/types/utilities/bundles/index.html">Bundles</a> may only be experienced firsthand by technical artists, asset integration features like packing and improvements to the modifier UI enabled the new built-in modifiers in Blender 5.0.</p> <p>There’s still a long way to go before replacing the legacy particle system, but a new hair solver with a <a href="https://code.blender.org/2025/05/declarative-systems-in-geometry-nodes/">user-friendly interface</a> will be a important step in that direction.</p> <p>Speaking of nodes, <strong>Modal Node Tools</strong> will expand the <a href="https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/modeling/geometry_nodes/tools.html">Node-Based Tools</a> to support <a href="https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/interface/operators.html#modal-operators">modal operations</a>. With an evolving design over the years (<a href="https://code.blender.org/2023/11/geometry-nodes-workshop-november-2023/#realtime-mode">2023</a>, <a href="https://code.blender.org/2024/11/geometry-nodes-workshop-october-2024/#modal-node-tools">2024</a>, <a href="https://code.blender.org/2025/10/geometry-nodes-workshop-september-2025/#modal-node-tools">2025</a>), it’s now ready to move from prototype into development. This will also lay groundwork for an interactive mode for Geometry Nodes simulations.</p> <a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-in-2026/?utm_medium=news#platforms"><h2>Platforms</h2></a> <p>The initial port to <strong>Android</strong> devices, including touch support, will start. This is but the first mobile platform that is targetted for release. Others should follow in the future.</p> <p>The initial focus is on tablets, but the same technology will allow Blender to run natively on XR devices. Overall, usability improvements should benefit both on-the-go artists and those already using regular display (or even non-display) tablets.</p> <a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-in-2026/?utm_medium=news#blender-lab"><h2>Blender Lab</h2></a> <figure><img src="https://www.blender.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/image.png"></figure> <p>To launch the <a href="https://www.blender.org/news/introducing-blender-lab/">Blender Lab</a> initiative, the development team will explore natural language input in Blender. The experiment aims to develop an <strong>MCP server</strong> for Blender, with communication handled via the existing Python API.</p> <p>Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open-source standard that enables LLMs to connect with external data, tools, and systems.</p> <a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-in-2026/?utm_medium=news#on-going-projects"><h2>On-going Projects</h2></a> <p>There is always maintenance and ongoing development in the modules. Here are a few areas being worked on:</p> <p><strong>EEVEE</strong> feature parity (with pre-EEVEE-next releases) such as <a href="https://developer.blender.org/docs/release_notes/5.1/eevee/#eevee">better planar reflection</a>. As well as raytracing pipeline improvements and shader compilation optimizations.</p> <p>After recent <strong>Grease Pencil</strong> developments to <a href="https://developer.blender.org/docs/release_notes/5.0/grease_pencil/#blender-50-grease-pencil">improve curve types support and adding more rendering options</a>, the focus now is on updating the workflow for <a href="https://devtalk.blender.org/t/grease-pencil-new-fills-workflow/44106/15">creating fills</a> and adding support for holes.</p> <p>After the initial <strong>Cycles</strong> projects have been completed, the plan is to work on either improved light transport or handling of complex scenes. Improvements to the external render engine API are also being investigated.</p> <p>And more:</p> <ul> <li><a href="https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/issues/149485">Multiresolution spike fixes</a>.</li> <li><a href="https://projects.blender.org/blender/blender/issues/132171">Collection import</a>.</li> <li><a href="https://projects.blender.org/studio/flamenco/">Flamenco</a> and <a href="https://projects.blender.org/studio/flamenco/issues/104437">BAT</a> (Blender Asset Tracer) improvements.</li> <li>Exploring editor tabs and docked editors.</li> <li>Other module work.</li> </ul> <hr> <a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-in-2026/?utm_medium=news#releases"><h2>Releases</h2></a> <p>The planned releases for 2026 and their initial dates are:</p> <ul> <li>Blender 5.1 (March) </li> <li>Blender 5.2 <a href="https://www.blender.org/download/lts/">LTS</a> (July) </li> <li>Blender 5.3 (November)</li> </ul> <p>On top of this, LTS release updates are expected throughout the year:</p> <ul> <li>Blender 4.2 LTS – until July 2026</li> <li>Blender 4.5 LTS – until July 2027</li> <li>Blender 5.2 LTS – until July 2028</li> </ul> <a href="https://www.blender.org/development/projects-to-look-forward-to-in-2026/?utm_medium=news#make-this-possible"><h2>Make this Possible</h2></a> <p>All of this progress is made possible <a href="https://fund.blender.org/">thanks to the donations</a> and the ongoing involvement and contributions of the community.</p> <h4>Support the Future of Blender</h4> <p>Donate to the <a href="https://fund.blender.org/">Development Fund</a> to support the Blender Foundation’s work on core development, maintenance, and new releases.</p> <p>To follow new developments, keep an eye on the <a href="http://code.blender.org/">Developers Blog</a> and join the discussions on the <a href="https://devtalk.blender.org/">DevTalk Forum</a>.<br></p> <p>On behalf of the team, I hope everyone has a great 2026. Happy Blending!</p><p>Dalai Felinto</p> <p>Head of Product, Blender</p></div> https://www.blender.org/news/a-message-from-the-blender-foundation-board/?utm_medium=news<article id="post-95662 class=" post-95662="" post="" type-post="" status-publish="" format-standard="" has-post-thumbnail="" hentry="" category-news="" tag-news-link="" tag-press="" morss_own_score="9.534883720930234" morss_score="12.534883720930234"> <h1>A message from the Blender Foundation board</h1> <ul> <li>January 2nd, 2026</li> <li><a href="https://www.blender.org/category/news/">News</a></li> <li> <a href="https://www.blender.org/author/fsiddi/" title="Posts by Francesco Siddi">Francesco Siddi</a> </li> </ul> <div class="entry-content" morss_own_score="6.0" morss_score="19.5"> html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd" <p>As announced in September 2025 during the Blender Conference, the Blender Foundation board is welcoming three new members this year: Dalai Felinto (Head of Product), Fiona Cohen (COO), and Sergey Sharybin (Head of Development). They will join Francesco Siddi (CEO), while Ton Roosendaal transitions to the newly established supervisory board.</p> <figure><img src="https://www.blender.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/bcon25_bf_board.jpg"><figcaption>Fiona, Francesco, Sergey, and Dalai</figcaption></figure> <p>As mentioned in the original announcement, preparations for this transition have been extensive. As the Blender project continues to grow, some evolution is natural, but our core values and commitment to the mission remain unchanged: putting the best 3D technology in the hands of artists as free and open source software. </p> <p>We are excited to embark on this journey together, and we wish everyone in the Blender community a great 2026!</p> <p morss_own_score="4.0" morss_score="10.0">Francesco Siddi</p> <p>Fiona Cohen</p><p>Dalai Felinto</p><p>Sergey Sharybin</p></div> </article> https://www.blender.org/news/remembering-germano-cavalcante/?utm_medium=news<article id="post-95652 class=" post-95652="" post="" type-post="" status-publish="" format-standard="" has-post-thumbnail="" hentry="" category-news="" morss_own_score="9.529411764705882" morss_score="12.529411764705882"> <h1>Remembering Germano Cavalcante</h1> <ul> <li>December 9th, 2025</li> <li><a href="https://www.blender.org/category/news/">News</a></li> <li> <a href="https://www.blender.org/author/fsiddi/" title="Posts by Francesco Siddi">Francesco Siddi</a> </li> </ul> <div class="entry-content" morss_own_score="6.0" morss_score="21.5"> html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd" <p>Last week, the very sad news reached us that Blender developer Germano Cavalcante de Sousa passed away on 24 November 2025.</p> <p>Germano had been dealing with leukemia for over a year. He was quite open about it and shared updates in his weekly reports. During this period, Germano kept being involved with Blender when possible. Everyone was impressed by his spirit and passion for his work on Blender. </p> <p>Germano started as a triager and mesh editing team member in early 2017. Because of his architecture background, he wished to work on improving precise modeling tools for designers, which was the main topic worked on for many years.</p> <p>I can’t express how saddened I am by this news. We will severely miss him and we will cherish our memories of Germano. Our hearts go out to his family and friends in Brazil.</p> <p>Ton Roosendaal, and the entire Blender Team</p> <p>Amsterdam, 8 December 2025.</p></div> </article> https://www.blender.org/news/give-back-to-blender-fundraiser-for-2026/?utm_medium=news<article id="post-95454 class=" post-95454="" post="" type-post="" status-publish="" format-standard="" has-post-thumbnail="" hentry="" category-news="" morss_own_score="9.695817490494296" morss_score="12.695817490494296"> <h1>Give Back to Blender – Fundraiser for 2026</h1> <ul> <li>November 13th, 2025</li> <li><a href="https://www.blender.org/category/news/">News</a></li> <li> <a href="https://www.blender.org/author/fsiddi/" title="Posts by Francesco Siddi">Francesco Siddi</a> </li> </ul> <div class="entry-content" morss_own_score="6.0" morss_score="35.5"> html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd" <p>If Blender helped you with your projects this year, we’re asking you to help us back.</p> <p>For the past year, you’ve had access to professional 3D software, completely free. No subscriptions, no licenses, no limits. Blender has been there for your projects, your learning, your art, your business.</p> <p><strong>Today, we’re asking for €5.</strong></p> <p>That’s it. If every active Blender user contributes €5 this month, Blender Foundation would meet its entire yearly funding goal for 2026.</p> <p>Blender’s strength comes from a simple idea: the best 3D technology should belong to everyone. But maintaining and improving professional software isn’t free. It takes developers, designers, and infrastructure.</p> <p><strong>Blender does not have corporate owners or subscription fees. It has its community.</strong></p> <p>If Blender was worth €5 of value to you this year, please donate today. If it was worth more, you can give more. Every contribution, no matter the size, keeps Blender growing strong, independent, and free for everyone.</p> <p>We understand that not everyone can afford €5, but please consider sharing this so the message is received by those who can.</p> <p><strong>Do your part. Donate €5 (or more) this month.</strong></p> <p>Thank you for being part of the Blender community!</p> <p>Francesco Siddi</p> <p>Blender Foundation</p></div> </article> https://www.blender.org/press/anthropic-joins-the-blender-development-fund-as-corporate-patron/?utm_medium=news<article id="post-96355 class=" post-96355="" post="" type-post="" status-publish="" format-standard="" has-post-thumbnail="" hentry="" category-press="" morss_own_score="8.833819241982507" morss_score="11.556041464204728"> <h1>Anthropic joins the Blender Development Fund as Corporate Patron</h1> <ul> <li>April 28th, 2026</li> <li><a href="https://www.blender.org/category/press/">Press Releases</a></li> <li> <a href="https://www.blender.org/author/fsiddi/" title="Posts by Francesco Siddi">Francesco Siddi</a> </li> </ul> <div class="entry-content" morss_own_score="5.444444444444445" morss_score="27.041991824600522"> html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd" <p><strong>Notice:</strong> This announcement is causing a lot of feedback. We are actively evaluating it. Reach out to <a href="https://www.blender.org/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#0e68617b606a6f7a6761604e6c626b606a6b7c20617c69">Blender Foundation</a> directly if you wish to share more feedback.</p> <p>Blender Foundation announces that Anthropic is joining the Blender Development Fund as Corporate Patron.</p> <p>This support will be dedicated towards Blender core development, to maintain and continuously improve foundational features like the Blender Python API, which enables developers and artists alike to extend and improve the software for custom workflows. </p> <blockquote> <p>In these uncertain and divisive times, we appreciate Anthropic offering support to the Blender project in the form of a Patron-level membership. This enables the Blender team to keep pursuing projects independently, and to focus on building tools for artists and creators. </p> <p>Francesco Siddi, CEO at Blender</p> </blockquote> <p>Blender Foundation’s mission remains to empower artists with free/open source technology and tools. Yet, we also maintain APIs for individuals and corporations to extend Blender, also beyond what’s aligned with Blender’s mission. We consider this part of the Software Freedom that’s embodied with Blender’s GNU GPL license. More information about our funding policy is available at <a href="https://fund.blender.org/funding-policy/">https://fund.blender.org/funding-policy/</a>. </p> <p>Anthropic is an AI research and development company that creates reliable, interpretable, and steerable AI systems. Anthropic’s flagship product is Claude, a large language model trusted by millions of users worldwide. Learn more about Anthropic and Claude at anthropic.com. </p> <p>Blender, the world’s most popular free and open-source 3D creation software, offers a comprehensive  solution for modelling, animation, VFX, and more. Maintained by the Blender Foundation, it’s the tool of  choice for a vast global community of professional artists and enthusiasts, committed to open collaboration and 3D technology innovation.</p> </div> </article>