Otoy releases OctaneRender 2026.2
Otoy has released OctaneRender 2026.2, the latest version of the GPU production renderer.
The update extends the new features introduced earlier in OctaneRender 2026 release cycle, making it possible to use meshlets and high-quality texture displacement in network renders.
Updates to the big features from OctaneRender 2026.1, including meshlet streaming
It’s only a couple of months since Otoy released OctaneRender 2026.1, so the changes in OctaneRender 2026.2 are mainly bugfixes for the major new features it introduced.
However, there also are some important changes to those new features, with both meshlets and high-quality displacement now available in network renders, not just on a local machine.
Meshlets are a new system that Otoy describes as like “Nanite, but for path tracing”, making it possible to render larger scenes than can fit into GPU memory by streaming data at render time.
The high quality mode makes it possible to use 16K displacement maps in renders.
New metalness AOV for layered materials
Other changes include a new metalness AOV for layered materials, and the option to exclude directional lights from renders using the light IDs setting in the kernel node.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that these smaller updates are a relatively new phenomenon: it’s only really in the past year that Otoy has begun putting out more than one version of OctaneRender in a year.
Price, system requirements and release date
OctaneRender 2026.2 is compatible with Windows 10+ and Linux, and requires a CUDA 10-capable NVIDIA GPU.
The Mac edition, Octane X, is compatible with macOS 14.0+ on Macs with Apple M1 and later processors, and with iPadOS 26.0+ 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 2026.2 on Otoy’s forum
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