Saturday, July 26th, 2025 Posted by Jim Thacker

Autodesk releases Flame 2026.1


Originally posted on 17 April 2025. Scroll down for details of the Flame 2026.1 update.

Autodesk has begun its Flame 2026 release cycle, the latest annual series of updates to Flame, its compositing, finishing and effects software

Flame 2026 introduces support for OpenColorIO color management, a new Type tool for on-screen text, and an AI-based clip upscaling system.

Flare and Flame Assist, the cut-down editions of Flame, have also been updated, but another former Flame Family application, color grading tool Lustre, has been discontinued.

OpenColorIO replaces SynColor for color management
The headline change in Flame 2026 is support for open color-management standard OpenColorIO (OCIO), replacing the old Autodesk Color Management (SynColor) system.

The move brings Flame in line with Autodesk’s other Media and Entertainment products like Maya and 3ds Max, and with other key tools in visual effects pipelines like Houdini and Nuke.

The change is backwards-compatible, with projects created in previous versions of Flame being automatically migrated from SynColor to OCIO.

New Type tool replaces the old Text tool
Other new features include the new Type tool for on-screen text and titles, replacing the legacy Text tool.

According to Autodesk, it provides better workflows for kerning and styling text, better font management, and supports layer management via the Layers list.

The Type tool also integrates better into Batch, Batch FX and the Timeline than its predecessor, including support for color management, context views, and multiview.


Machine-learning-based video upscaling
Flame 2026 also introduces a new machine learning upscaling system, available in the Media Export window, and via the Resize & Crop, Render and Write File nodes.

Clips can be increased in resolution by 2x, 3x or 4x; and upscaling can be performed on CPU or GPU, although GPU processing is restricted to clips with resolutions of 1,920 x 1,080px or less.

The option is currently only available on Rocky Linux, and does not support background export.

There are also new AI models for the Morph and Timewarp tools, which both got new machine-learning-based capabilities during the Flame 2025 updates.

Other workflow and pipeline improvements
Workflow improvements include a redesigned Project Management window, and new options to set file locations for a project.

There are also smaller updates to Batch and Batch FX, and the MediaHub.

The Input and Output Clip modules have been deprecated.

You can find a complete list of changes, including updates to the Python API and the RAW file formats supported, via the link at the foot of this story.



Updated 25 July 2025: Autodesk has released Flame 2026.1

The update makes OpenFX available as a Source Timeline FX, making it possible to apply OpenFX plugins before the Resize and Timewarp FX.

The change is intended to make it easier to color grade or denoise clips before resizing or retiming them.

Improvements to project management workflow
Workflow improvements include the option to color code or add tags to projects in the Project Management window to help manage them at a glance.

It is also now possible to export a snapshot of the current frame from the Player.

The Type tool added in Flame 2026.0 gets support for masking and motion blur.

Other Flame Family applications: Lustre discontinued after Lustre 2025
In related news, the Flame Family of applications has shrunk with the 2026 releases, color grading tool Lustre having been discontinued after the release of Lustre 2025.

The other two members of the family, Flare and Flame Assist – both cut-down versions of Flame itself – are still listed in the release notes.

Pricing and availability
Flame 2026, Flame Assist 2026 and Flare 2026 are compatible with Rocky Linux 8.10/9.3/9.5 and macOS 13.0+. The software is available rental-only.

Flame subscriptions cost $650/month, up a further $10/month since the release of Flame 2026.0, or $5,215/year, up a further $170/year.

Flame Assist and Flare subscriptions are available through resellers, but cost $2,775/year, up $180/year, at the time of the release of Flame 2026.0.

Read a full list of new features in the Flame 2026 releases in the online documentation


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