April 5, 2025 — Blackmagic Design has officially unveiled the public beta of Fusion Studio 20, marking a major leap forward for the compositing software with long-awaited features like Deep Compositing and native Cryptomatte support. The announcement was made during the NAB 2025 conference and is already generating buzz across the VFX community.
This release, available for free to existing customers via Blackmagic Design’s support site, brings several long-requested capabilities that position Fusion as a more viable contender against industry-standard tools like Nuke. Most notably, Fusion Studio 20 now includes native support for multichannel OpenEXR files—one of the key limitations that had previously deterred many artists from switching platforms.
Native Multichannel EXR Support: A Game-Changer?
One of the most exciting aspects of the release is the improved OpenEXR workflow. Fusion users can now work with multilayer EXRs without resorting to complicated channel shuffling. According to early testers, each node features a dropdown menu allowing users to select which channel it should operate on—an approach that’s markedly different from Nuke, but intuitive once understood. The new multimerge workflow enables users to bring processed channels back together without manual shuffling.
“I would have expected it to work with channel booleans, but it doesn’t,” one early user noted. “Still, it’s surprisingly straightforward. You can now build simple comps without needing to manually shuffle channels, which is kinda cool.”
While the current support is limited to the public beta, full implementation is expected to roll out alongside the final release of DaVinci Resolve 20, which shares the same core architecture as Fusion Studio.
What’s New in Fusion Studio 20 Public Beta
The feature list is extensive and focuses on modernizing and expanding Fusion’s capabilities for today’s VFX pipelines:
- New Deep Image Compositing Toolset
- Native Cryptomatte Support
- Multi-layer Pipelining for EXR, PSD, and Stereoscopic 3D
- Vector Warping Toolset for Image Patching and Cleanup
- MultiText Tool with Layer Controls and Easy Transform
- Enhanced Text+ with Paragraph Wrapping and Bounding Tools
- Support for 180° VR Editing
- ACES 2.0 and OCIO 2.4.2 Integration
- New 3D Scene Dome Light
- Film Look Creator Tools
- GPU-Accelerated Pano Map and Spherical Stabilizer Tools
- Search Tool by Effects Category
- General Performance and Stability Enhancements
Workflow Upgrades and New Creative Tools
Other highlights include custom font filters in the Text node, designed to speed up font selection and improve user efficiency. The update also introduces robust support for 180° VR workflows, acknowledging the growing demand in immersive content creation.
The support for multi-layer pipelines in both PSDs and EXRs is a notable shift that caters directly to professionals working with complex asset structures. Artists can now manage layers more intuitively, encouraging more ambitious and visually layered compositions.
Early Access, Big Expectations
As the beta rolls out, users are just beginning to explore the new toolset. While it may not be ready for full production use just yet, Fusion Studio 20 Public Beta clearly signals Blackmagic Design’s commitment to making Fusion a heavyweight in modern compositing.
With native Cryptomatte, multichannel EXR support, and a significantly upgraded 3D and VR toolset, Fusion Studio 20 might finally offer what many artists have been waiting for—a serious, streamlined alternative to Nuke.
Read more here : https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/in/products/fusion
