The next big Blender release is expected to be out in 2018.
Here are some details on Blender 2.8:
Blender 2.8 brings the minimum OpenGL version to 3.3, with even newer features for compatible hardware.
The main use of this technology is said to be Blender’s new real-time render engine: Eevee
Blender’s 2D drawing capabilities will be improved with 2.8. The new Grease Pencil focus is to create a more friendly interface for the 2D artist, while keeping the advantages of having a full 3D suite underneath.
The Pencil is now a real Blender object with huge improvements to brushes and tools.
Workspaces will allow users to build up their working environment for a specific task. There could be workspaces for modeling, sculpting, animation and motion tracking.
Gone is the limit of 20 layers per scene. Blender 2.8 features a new concept for Layers and Collections.
The dependency graph is getting a complete overhaul. Not only delivering better performance but also allowing overrides on data in a way not possible before. Read more.
This long awaited feature is finally coming to the 2.8x series. Read more.