Despite the fact that the release of Blender 4.4 focuses on workflow improvements and bug fixes, without major new features like Eevee Next in Blender 4.2 or Grease Pencil 3 in Blender 4.3, here are the key changes to highlight in the beta version of Blender 4.4.
1. Animation: Slotted Actions Simplify Workflow
One of the key changes in Blender 4.4 is the overhaul of the Actions structure — the data blocks used for storing animations. Actions now support Slots, allowing a single Action to store multiple types of data simultaneously. This simplifies the creation of complex animations, such as when an object changes color during movement, using separate slots for position and material.
The changes are especially useful for animating cameras and materials, where the material and its node structure can have separate slots. It is also now possible to combine the animation of multiple objects into a single Action or split the slots of one Action into several, increasing flexibility. This change is part of the Animation 2025 Project, an initiative to improve rigging and animation tools. Initially, there were plans to replace Actions with a new data type called Animation, but instead, a slot system was implemented. The update includes a new Python API and is not fully backward-compatible, although existing .blend files will automatically be updated upon import.
2. Viewport Rendering: Major Update for the New Vulkan Component
The new version of Vulkan, introduced in Blender 4.1 for rendering the user interface and viewport, has received a "significant update in performance, stability, and compatibility." The startup time, from scene loading to the final viewport display, is now approximately 5 times faster than OpenGL on a cold start, and 2 times faster on a warm start.
Vulkan is also now used for displaying the rendered result of Cycles, Blender's production renderer — although it is not yet used for running Cycles, which is still described in the online documentation as "unfeasible." Vulkan is supported on relatively old graphics cards: NVIDIA's 10-year-old GeForce GTX 900 series and AMD's 8-year-old Radeon 400 series are supported on both Windows and Linux. However, this feature remains experimental: key features like OpenEXR and OpenSubdiv are missing, and animation performance still needs improvement.
3. Compositing: Faster CPU Compositing and Updated Glare Node
Another important change in Blender 4.4 is the rewrite of the CPU compositor — the original compositor, not the new Viewport Compositor introduced in Blender 3.5. This work was done in preparation for future development, but it has already significantly improved speed: key nodes, including blur, filter, and mask nodes, now work 2-10 times faster. The Glare node, used to add lens flares to images, has also become more user-friendly.
4. Pipeline Integration: CY2025 Support for VFX Reference Platform
For visual effects and animation studios, another key feature of Blender 4.4 is its update to comply with the CY2025 specification for the VFX reference platform. This annually updated specification, governed by the Visual Effects Society, aims to ensure that all tools used in VFX production processes are using the same versions of key software libraries. Previously, the Blender Foundation considered discontinuing support for this platform, but in 2022, this decision was reversed, and full compliance was reinstated in Blender 4.0.
5. Bug Fixes
One of the main goals of Blender 4.4 was to focus on bug fixes rather than adding new major tools. In fact, the fixes can be considered one of the top five changes in this release. According to a recent post on Blender's developer blog, over 500 issues were fixed in January alone as part of the "Winter of Quality" initiative. The most fixes were applied to Grease Pencil, the tool for 2D animation and storyboarding, which was significantly overhauled in Blender 4.3. Additionally, more than 70 fixes were made to the user interface, viewport, and the Geometry Nodes framework.
There are also several minor changes, which can be found on the official website.
Blender 4.4 is currently in beta testing, with the stable version expected to be released in March 2025. Blender is compatible with Windows 8.1 and above, macOS 11.2 and above, and glibc 2.28 and above on Linux.