Maxon releases Red Giant 2026.4
Originally posted on 7 December 2026, and updated with details of Red Giant 2026.4.
Maxon has begun its 2026 series of updates to Red Giant, its suite of effects plugins for compositing and editing apps.
At the time of writing, the latest update is Red Giant 2026.4, which adds support for free motion graphics software as a host application, and support for ARM processors on Windows system.
📢 It's here! Depth Generator from Red Giant has arrived. Update today, launch #AfterEffects, and get deep. pic.twitter.com/NkeMvsOSpn
— Maxon Red Giant (@MaxonRedGiant) November 5, 2025
Red Giant 2026.1: new automatic depth map generator
Red Giant 2026.1 adds a new depth estimation tool for generating depth maps from video footage inside After Effects.
The maps can be used as alpha mattes, or to create custom blur and displacement effects. Users can adjust output with “advanced isolation and refinement controls”.
Browse all your Red Giant tools (and presets) in one place – the new Plugins Page in #MaxonStudio pic.twitter.com/94gtThJoAd
— Maxon Red Giant (@MaxonRedGiant) December 4, 2025
Red Giant 2026.2: unified installer for Red Giant and Universe
Red Giant 2026.2 consolidates the installers for the Red Giant plugins themselves and Universe, the library of readymade effects and transitions included in Red Giant subscriptions.
Users can browse the plugins inside After Effects via the Plugins tab in the Maxon Studio panel.
ICYMI, we released an update yesterday that introduced French language localization for all Red Giant tools (and lots of Maxon Studio bug fixes)! pic.twitter.com/AfBUu1KqEI
— Maxon Red Giant (@MaxonRedGiant) February 5, 2026
Red Giant 2026.3: French language edition
Red Giant 2026.3 adds French language support to all of the plugins. Other than that, it’s purely a bugfix release.
Our tools on the go with Windows Arm in Adobe hosts and the return of Autograph!
Lots of big stuff this release to improve your workflow and expand your proects. https://t.co/rzKhN8TckL— Maxon Red Giant (@MaxonRedGiant) April 16, 2026
Red Giant 2026.4: Autograph support
The main change in Red Giant 2026.4 is the addition of Autograph as a host application, Maxon having just released the USD-based motion graphics software for free.
All of the OpenFX-compatible plugins are now available for Autograph – the majority of the key Red Giant plugins, with the exception of the particle tools like Trapcode Particular and Form.
In addition, the After Effects and Premiere Pro versions of the plugins now natively support ARM processors on Windows.
The Depth Generator added in Red Giant 2026.1 gets the option to render the depth pass to either an MP4 video file or PNG sequence, which is then imported directly back into the comp.
Price and system requirements
Red Giant is compatible with After Effects 2025+ on Windows 10+ and macOS 14.0+. Some individual tools are compatible with other host applications, including DaVinci Resolve.
Complete Red Giant subscriptions, which include Universe, cost $85/month or $639/year. Individual Universe subscriptions cost $32/month or $214/year.
Read more about the Red Giant plugins on Maxon’s website
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