Abstract:
The Blender development team is discussing whether to remove the OpenGL graphics backend starting with a future version 6.0. The minutes of the viewport and EEVEE module meeting on October 5 listed it as an internal proposal and stated that the target version is Blender 6.0; developers have not yet made a decision, and the virtual texture function is still an obstacle to promoting removal.
This change involves the graphics drawing interface used by the Blender interface and viewport. It does not mean that the entire software or 3D functions will be removed. Blender 5.0 already supports the Vulkan backend; the developer documentation states that the Vulkan backend is used to draw the Blender interface and is not responsible for running Cycles rendering. If OpenGL is canceled in the future, older devices that cannot use Vulkan or other supported graphics backends for the platform may need to continue to use earlier versions.
Blender’s official system requirements currently list graphics interface requirements such as OpenGL 4.3 and Vulkan 1.3. Phoronix pointed out that if the proposal is passed, 5.5 LTS, planned to be launched in November 2027, may become an important choice for the old OpenGL-only platform to continue to use Blender; however, Blender’s previously announced version cycle schedule schedules 5.5 LTS in November 2027 and incorporates 6.0 into the new cycle in 2028, which is different from the 6.0 target time given in the meeting minutes. The specific removal version and time still need to be further confirmed by the development team.
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