Otoy releases OctaneRender 2026.1 in alpha
Otoy has released OctaneRender 2026.1, a new alpha preview of the GPU production renderer.
It was released in parallel with OctaneRender 2025.1, the next actual production-ready build of the software, and showcases more experimental technologies.
Features included in the initial alpha release include support for rendering 3D Gaussian Splats, and native MaterialX support, both previously scheduled for OctaneRender 2024.
Those due to be added in future updates include new neural rendering modules and the much-delayed meshlet streaming system.
Includes native support for MaterialX and 3D Gaussian Splats
OctaneRender 2026.1 includes a number of key features that Otoy has announced previously.
They include native support for MaterialX, the open material standard increasingly being adopted in VFX workflows, and already supported in other renderers including Arnold, Houdini’s Karma renderer, RenderMan, Unreal Engine and V-Ray.
It also supports rendering of 3D Gaussian Splats, the new 3D scene reconstruction technology now being adopted in both VFX and architectural visualization, and supported in V-Ray.
Both features were originally scheduled for the OctaneRender 2024 release cycle.
Other features in the current alpha include real-time shader-based displacement, a new Neural Radiance Cache system, and support for trace sets.
Neural rendering and meshlet streaming due in future updates
Features not included in the initial alpha, but scheduled for future OctaneRender 2026.1 updates, include the much-delayed meshlet geometry streaming system.
Described as “like Unreal Engine’s Nanite, but for path tracing”, it was originally announced for the Octane 2023 release cycle, then re-announced for 2024.
Other features scheduled for future updates include neural rendering, intended to make it possible to “launch [machine learning] and neural filters locally or through the Render Network“.
So when will these features become production-ready?
This is the first time that Otoy has released a preview build for the next-year-but-one, so it’s difficult to say when the features in Octane 2026.1 will reach a stable release.
It’s also difficult to say whether all of the features will actually become production-ready by 2026: this is the third year that meshlets have been announced, without reaching even an alpha build.
For those reasons, it’s probably better to treat OctaneRender 2026.1 simply as a chance to test some of the experimental technologies that Otoy has in development.
We’ll bring you more detailed coverage of the features once they seem closer to a final release.
Price, system requirements and release date
OctaneRender 2026.1 is currently in alpha. Otoy hasn’t announced a final release date.
OctaneRender is compatible with Windows 10+ and Linux, and requires a CUDA 10-capable NVIDIA GPU.
The native Metal edition, Octane X, is compatible with macOS 14.0+ on Macs with Apple M1 and later processors, and with iPadOS 17.0+ on devices with A12 Bionic and later chips.
The software is rental-only, via Otoy’s Studio+ subscriptions, which cost €23.95/month, and which include integration plugins for 21 DCC applications, plus a range of third-party software.
Otoy also provides free ‘Prime’ editions of both OctaneRender and Octane X, which are limited to rendering on a single GPU, and which come with a smaller set of DCC integration plugins.
Read a full list of new features in OctaneRender 2026.1 on Otoy’s forum
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