How Often Does Blender Release Major Updates?

The Blender Foundation maintains a highly structured and predictable release schedule for its open-source 3D creation suite. This article explains the frequency of Blender’s major version updates, details how their release cycle operates, and outlines the role of their Long-Term Support (LTS) program for production environments.

The Standard Release Cycle

The Blender Foundation releases a new stable version of Blender approximately every three to four months, resulting in three major feature releases per calendar year. These updates (such as Blender 4.1, 4.2, and 4.3) introduce new tools, rendering improvements, user interface enhancements, and performance optimizations.

Major Milestone Releases

While point releases occur every few months, larger milestone shifts—defined by a change in the first digit of the version number (e.g., moving from Blender 3.x to Blender 4.x)—occur roughly every two to three years. These milestone releases often introduce fundamental architectural changes, major API updates for add-on developers, and significant revamps of core systems like Cycles or Eevee.

The Long-Term Support (LTS) Program

To accommodate animation studios, game developers, and enterprise users who require a highly stable environment, the Blender Foundation designates one release each year as a Long-Term Support (LTS) version.