Blender 5.2 LTS, Houdini 22, and cheaper NPCs
The calm before the mid-June engine storm: two important DCC roadmap moments and a runtime price cut worth noting.
The calm before the mid-June engine storm, with two important DCC roadmap moments and a price cut worth noting.
Blender 5.2 LTS and a Houdini 22 sneak peek
Blender 5.2 entered beta as the next two-year LTS, now feature-frozen and targeting a July 2026 release. If you run a studio on LTS builds, this is the one you will standardize on next. Meanwhile, SideFX gave a sneak peek at Houdini 22, headlined by full Gaussian Splat support and a direct COP-to-Unreal path via HDA.
Also worth a look
Inworld cuts runtime prices
Inworld cut prices on its AI Runtime stack by more than 50%. If you shelved an AI-NPC idea on cost, it is worth another look.
Next week, everything ships at once.
Tools covered in this issue
Don't miss the next issue
New gamedev tools, tech, and deals, straight to your inbox.
Join 3,200+ indie devs · unsubscribe anytime.
More newsletters
Blender 5.2 LTS, visible agents, and Roblox's prompt-to-play bet
Blender lands a two-year stable base, Summer Engine makes agent-building directable, and Roblox bets the platform on prompt-to-playable.
Engine super-week: Unreal 5.8, Unity 6.5, and Godot 4.7
The big three engines shipped within days. Unreal 5.8 goes out as the last major UE5 release and starts the UE6 countdown, while Unity 6.5 and Godot 4.7 hit milestones of their own.
Godot's store and a big week for AI audio
Two AI audio releases worth your attention, a real jump for an AI mesh generator, and Godot finally getting a proper storefront.