Blender 4.4 launches with a new slotted actions system, Vulkan improvements, and more

Blender 4.4 has been launched, introducing major improvements in animation and rigging with the new Slotted Actions System. This system allows multiple data-block types to be stored within a single Action, making animation storage more efficient. Existing .blend files transition smoothly to this system due to automatic action migration with "Legacy Slots." The Action Editor workflow has been enhanced, allowing animators to merge, split, and reorganize animated data more easily, and the Pose Library now supports multiple armatures and external asset management.

Other notable updates include a rewritten CPU compositor for better speed and memory efficiency, expanded GPU rendering support for the latest NVIDIA and AMD hardware, and user interface improvements like faster preview rendering and enhanced UV Editor shortcuts. Video encoding now supports H.265/HEVC and new DWAA/DWAB EXR compression options. The Sequencer has been upgraded for improved HDR editing and new text strip features, while experimental Vulkan backend optimizations boost performance and stability.

There are also several updates to Geometry Nodes, Grease Pencil, modeling, UV enhancements, and sculpting tools. You can check out all the detailed updates here.