Blender 4.5 Beta Released

Right on schedule, Blender 4.5 has officially entered the Beta stage, with its full release planned for July 15. This version features a splash screen with Pinda and Chocomel, the main characters from DOGWALK, a charming game developed by Blender Studio using Godot. DOGWALK has just launched in early access, currently available to Blender Studio subscribers, with a free release planned once it's polished.

Thomas Marcos, the creator behind the free procedural clouds shader and other cool projects, has put together a quick overview of his favorite new features coming in Blender 4.5, some of which we've highlighted before. Here's what you can expect:

• New Import Nodes: Geometry Nodes now allow importing external files via drag-and-drop, which auto-creates the import node. Sequence loading is enabled through the new Format String node. Support for .fbx, .abc, and .usd files is not yet available;
• New Point Cloud Object: The Point Cloud object is now fully supported. Edit Mode includes transforms, selection overlay, and the Set Attribute operator, enhancing precise manual control in procedural workflows;
• Path Variables Support: Blender now supports template expressions (e.g., {blend_name}, {resolution_x}) in file paths, which are auto-replaced during rendering for easy, dynamic filename generation;
• UI Improvements for Node Groups: Smarter, more flexible interfaces: toggle panels via boolean inputs, display menus as button sets, support Percentage and Factor vector socket subtypes, and auto-hide inputs linked to menus;
• High-Performance Adaptive Subdivision: Adaptive Subdivision gains major speed improvements, up to 14x faster on multi-core CPUs, plus smooth UVs, motion blur, and attribute interpolation, enhancing detailed, high-quality renders;
• Vulkan Backend Now Available: Blender now supports Vulkan, a modern graphics API that delivers better performance, lower overhead, and improved multi-core CPU use than OpenGL, enabling smoother viewport interaction and a more advanced graphics pipeline;
• Industry-Standard Light Settings: Lights now include Exposure, Temperature, and Normalize options for easier intensity control, natural color tones, and consistent lighting when adjusting size, offering greater artistic control and industry-standard alignment.
• Better Camera Transfers with USD: Blender now imports animated camera settings from USD files, focal length, depth of field, clipping, tilt, and aperture, enhancing camera data transfer between pipelines;
• Smarter UI for Everyday Tasks: Asset Browser adds a compact view with clearer names, and dragging collections into the 3D View snaps them naturally to surfaces. In the Node Editor, improved shortcuts, labels, and visuals make frames easier to use;
• Unified Node System for Compositing: Blender's Compositor now uses core nodes from Shader and Geometry Nodes, replacing legacy nodes with more powerful, unified versions. Texture nodes are fully supported, enhancing consistency, flexibility, and creative control.

Find more details in the original thread and track Blender's project progress here. Also, check out the community's thoughts in the 2024 feedback survey.

See the full list of Blender 4.5's new features here, and start testing by downloading it now. Also, join our 80 Level Talent platform and our new Discord server, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram, TikTok, and Threads, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.