Gaussian splats and CGI in one render: what Blender 5.3 could change

Blender 5.3 is expected to introduce native Gaussian splat import and rendering, allowing artists to plan scenes in which a scanned space and CGI models share the same production environment. The release is scheduled for 10 November 2026, so these features are still in development and should not be treated as final.

For a studio working on architectural visualisation, product imagery or virtual showrooms, the potential change is significant. You will be able to explore ways of combining a capture of a real space with furniture, machinery, products and other elements created in Blender, without necessarily relying on an external workflow just to render the splats.

What changes when a scan becomes part of your CGI scene?

Gaussian splats represent the appearance of a space or object through a collection of elements carrying visual information. They are useful when you need to preserve the look of a real-world capture without manually rebuilding every surface as conventional geometry.

Bringing this type of content into a production pipeline can involve specialist tools and additional conversions. Blender 5.3 is expected to allow imported splats to sit within a scene alongside objects, cameras, lights and materials from the same project.

This opens up possibilities for three types of work:

• Architectural visualisation: combine a scan of a commercial unit or industrial building with furniture, installations and design elements created for a proposal.
• Virtual showrooms: integrate a captured environment with CGI products to assess their presentation and composition.
• Product visualisation: place a modelled object in a scanned environment and evaluate how it fits visually into the space.

The potential benefit is being able to work within one production environment. It does not mean that scans can replace conventional 3D models in every task or that the limitations of each representation disappear.

Which formats and render engines will Blender 5.3 support?

According to the available information about the development version, Blender 5.3 is expected to import Gaussian splats as PointCloud objects from PLY, SPZ up to version 4, and USD.

Rendering is also planned across Blender's three familiar environments:

These points describe announced capabilities, not a guarantee that every file will behave identically in every scene. Before using them in a client project, you will need to test your specific formats and scene setup.

How can you combine splats with CGI models?

The most interesting workflow is to use the scan as the visual reference for a space, then add the elements you need to design or present.

Imagine preparing an industrial showroom. The scan can preserve the appearance of the existing space, while equipment, products or proposed changes are modelled in Blender. You can then assess the overall composition and create images that combine the captured environment with CGI elements.

The same approach can be used for product visualisation, placing a modelled object within a real location. The result will depend on capture quality, scale, camera setup, and how the materials and lighting behave.

The development version also includes planned shading changes that could allow you to alter how splats are represented. Digital Production describes the possibility of replacing emission with a Diffuse BSDF material to relight them. This could offer more options for visual integration, but it does not mean a scan will respond like a conventional reconstructed mesh.

If your goal is to publish the result in a browser, the workflow is different. Read our guide to Gaussian splats for a web showroom without plugins for more on web publishing and viewing.

What limitations should you consider before adopting it?

Native import and rendering will not solve every production problem. Radiance Fields highlights limitations relating to performance, colour handling designed around sRGB, and an incomplete implementation of Apply Transform.

You should also remember that Blender 5.3 is not expected to support Gaussian splat export, according to the available information. Do not plan a workflow that depends on exporting those data from Blender, or assume compatibility with glTF KHR_gaussian_splatting.

Before using the feature in a project, check:

• The scan's size and performance within your scene.
• Colour consistency between the original file and the final render.
• The PointCloud's transformation, scale and orientation.
• Visual quality in Workbench, EEVEE and Cycles.
• The actual exchange options available with the rest of your pipeline.

If you need to keep scenes lightweight, review how you distribute complexity between geometry, materials and scanned elements. Our article on polygon budgets in 3D production explores this issue from a resource-management perspective.

What decision should you make this week?

This week, identify a representative scan from your projects and prepare a test combining it with CGI models. Check which formats you have available, the render quality you need and whether your delivery depends on exporting splats to another tool. Use these criteria to decide whether to include the feature in your plans once Blender 5.3 becomes available, without committing a project to capabilities that are still in development. If your studio uses earlier versions, also read our guide to planning a migration to Blender 5.2 LTS.

If you want to combine scans, CGI models and product spaces in a visualisation or showroom, tell us what you need to produce and how your current workflow operates.