What to expect from Blender in 2025 - what's next for the popular 3D art app?

The new Blender Foundation roadmap for 2025 has been revealed, and like each year's plans there are lots of things to be excited for in the coming year if you're a 3D artist and animator.

Blender has become one of the best 3D modelling softwares and one of the best softwares for animation, despite being free to use its secured itself as a good alternative to legacy software such as Maya and 3ds Max.

Each year the Blender Foundation begins by revealing its roadmap of new features and projects artists can expect, and this year's promised new tools and initiatives are already impressing users. You can read the full rundown of new projects planned for 2025 on the Blender Studio website, but below I've picked some of the most eye-catching planned releases.

For starters, there's a planned interactive project that will make use of Blender with indie game platform Godot Engine, which could open the door to more game developers making use of Blender to model and animate. There are also two planned short films and a new character asset that will be shared with the community.

Blender updates for 2025

If you're more interested in updates, refinements and new tools coming to Blender in 2025, then the Blender Studio video offers a good insight into what to expect. You can watch the video below, but I've picked some highlights too from the Blender Blog.

• Improved Node trees to enable artists to share groups of nodes between different systems, such as shading and composting, with the new update focussing on better hair dynamics.
• Sculpting will offer non-destructive workflows using layers and improved keyboard free options for those who prefer solely using drawing tablets.
• Story tools will enable animators to create storyboards and camera edits from the Video Sequence Editor.

As well as the new projects designed to show use-cases for updates and new tools, the Blender Foundation has revealed the release dates of the major new updates for Blender in 2025 and beyond. Below are the dates to scratch into your calendar.

• Blender 4.4 (March) will be focused on stability and polishing.
• Blender 4.5 LTS (July) to wrap up the Blender 4 series.
• Blender 5.0 (November), to kickstart a new development cycle.
• On top of this, LTS release updates are expected throughout the year:
  • Blender 3.6 LTS – until June 2025.
  • Blender 4.2 LTS – until July 2026.
  • Blender 4.5 LTS – until July 2027.

If you've not yet used Blender, then read our Blender explainer and how Blender review for the latest verdict, and read our Blender tutorials for advice on how to get started.