So that was Cinema R2026?
A new dawn!
A few days ago Maxon released a new version of Cinema 4D - release 2026. The September release every year is a big occasion with lots of new features and things to try out. What is in there this time?
Hmmm....
Except this year it wasn't big, not at all. The biggest fanfare was for a new logo. I don't know if some marketing guru thought this was a really good idea - but it wasn't. In fact it opened the company up to scorn and ridicule.
This isn't entirely Maxon's fault. The problem is shown in the very first sentence on this page, namely that ever since I can recall (and I've been using C4D since R8.5, which I think was released in 2004) the September release is something to look forward to. It hasn't always pleased everyone - that's too much to expect of course - but generally, it's the highlight of the C4D year. Now, Maxon seem to have adopted the approach that when a new feature is ready, it will be released, rather than waiting for a big release day. If we're being honest, that's an admirable policy to follow and many users have been asking for it for a long time. So we can't really complain when Maxon listens, even if it's case of 'be careful what you wish for - it might come true'.
The reason, I think, that this has upset people is that Maxon didn't tell anyone, or didn't make it clear enough, that this is what they were going to do. This left us expecting the usual big release and some shiny new toys, and we didn't get them. This could so easily have been prevented with a little more and better communication - it works wonders.
The only point I'd make is that if this is the new policy, why call the new version 'release 2026'? There's no real difference (the logo doesn't count) from the last build of R2025. Wouldn't it be sensible not to attach version numbers or dates to future releases of Cinema? That way, no-one expects big changes with a new release with a new name/date. Just call it 'Cinema 4D' and leave it at that. Then all that matters is the build number.
To move or not to move?
Inevitably, a new release, especially one with little in it, provokes the usual round of thinking 'it's time to switch to Blender/Houdini/Maya/(insert choice of DCC here)'. I wonder how many people actually do it? I'm guessing not many - that is, not due to disappointment at a new release. Some will do so as time goes on of course, for whatever reason, but not out of a fit of pique following a feature-poor new version.
For me, this time I really did give some serious consideration to dropping Cinema and moving to Blender. Consideration for about 10 minutes that is. I'm sticking with Cinema for these reasons:
- sheer inertia - learning another DCC at this point doesn't hold much appeal
- I've invested a lot of money in Cinema over the years
- I've also invested a great deal of time in it, one way and another
- it's easier to use than Houdini and has a better interface than Blender
- my uses for Cinema are principally plugin development and more recently use in conjunction with World Creator. WC and Blender are a good partnership but Cinema does what I want so why change? For plugins, there is no C++ API in Blender, so although there are plenty of Blender add-ons, these are Python scripts, which is not a language I like to code in
Of course, there are reasons to change as well. These would include:
- cost (with the subscription model for Cinema, this is a big factor)
- huge user base of Blender, much larger than Cinema, leading to a more active and much larger community (see the recent sad demise of the Core 4D site to show what I mean)
So for reasons good or bad, I'm staying with Cinema. But if I ever stopped coding plugins, there'd be little reason for me to carry on with it and I might as well use Blender, or even Unity. That's a pretty thin thread keeping Cinema on my PC.
Page last updated September 19th 2025