Blender 5.3 will be the next iteration of what remains the best the best free 3D app and the best free animation software for both 2D and 3D work. Currently in alpha, the full release is expected in November, and there’s one upgrade that’s already getting a lot of attention: the open-source software is getting native Gaussian splat support.
The next Blender update will let users import 3D Gaussian Splats from PLY and SPZ files. Though there’s no export yet, users can render splats using Blender’s engines (if you need a system that keep up, see our guide to the best laptops for 3D modelling).
Gaussian splatting is a relatively recent approach to 3D that allows artists and designers to recreate real-world objects and environments as photorealistic, interactive 3D scenes from a collection of ordinary photos or videos. Unlike traditional 3D models made of rigid geometric triangles and polygons, a splat is made of millions of tiny, overlapping 3D coloured blobs that store information about its position, size, shape, color, and transparency.
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Until now, the only way to work with Gaussian splats in Blender has been via external tools like Brush or COLMAP and importing the resulting .ply files using specialised add-ons. Blender 5.3 adds native import and allows rendering via Workbench, EEVEE, and Cycles.
Check out the examples from CGMatter on YouTube above, and from VFX artist Jason Key on X below.
The release notes mention four limitations for now. Performance is not ideal, the pipeline assumes sRGB color space, and areas of low opacity/high radiance can render incorrectly as Cycles and EEVEE operate in linear space. Also, Apply Transform on a Gaussian splat does not work correctly as it does not yet handle the new scale, rotation and spherical harmonics attributes.
Also see how Chaos has solved the problem of relighting Gaussian Splats.
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