Overview
Blender took part in Google Summer of Code (GSoC) 2025, welcoming eight talented contributors. Their work spanned the compositor, Video Sequence Editor (VSE), edit‑mesh tools, sculpting pipeline, regression test coverage, and the web‑based render manager Flamenco. According to the official Blender blog, most of the changes have already been merged and will ship with the upcoming Blender 5.0 release.
Compositor Enhancements
- Improving Sampling in the Compositor – Benjamin Beilharz added full support for nearest, bilinear, and bicubic interpolation, introduced wrap modes (Clip, Extend, Repeat), and rewrote the elliptical weighted average (EWA) sampler so CPU and GPU produce identical results.
- Regression Test Coverage for the Compositor – Ian Yoo expanded the compositor’s test suite, reorganised test directories and increased code‑coverage.
- Glare Node Enhancement – Mohamed Hassan refined the Glare node’s performance, stability and UI, fixing long‑standing usability issues.
Sculpting and Mesh Optimisations
- Optimising Mesh and Multires Sculpting Performance – Namit Bhutani re‑structured mesh data for better cache coherency and introduced compressed undo data, reducing memory overhead.
Editor and Workflow Improvements
- Create Keyframes in VSE Preview – Ramón Klauck enabled the I/K shortcut in the VSE preview, mirroring the 3D viewport workflow.
- Edit‑Mesh Mirror Improvements – Tariq Sulley added true mirroring support for edit‑mode operators, allowing symmetry axes to affect most tools.
- Pitch Correction for Sound Playback in Sequencer – Kace implemented a toggle to correct pitch during video sequence playback.
Flamenco Render Manager
- Handy Features and UI Improvements – Vivian Leung added a settings page, multi‑selection, and mass‑job selection to the Flamenco web UI.
Looking Ahead
The contributions demonstrate how GSoC can accelerate core‑feature development and polish in Blender. The Blender Foundation plans to apply again next year, continuing the partnership with Google.