Important Updates (2026.2)
Find information on the latest required Windows and Linux drivers, minimum requirements for VR/XR runtimes, and other changes in this article. And don't forget to check out the change to the Data Translator Toolkit.
New Data Translator Toolkit
We have changed the preference default for the import toolkit from legacy to the new data translator. This forces the switching of the default toolkit, which could affect SolidEdge, SolidWorks, NX, Catia V4, and Catia V5 file import. The legacy version is scheduled for deprecation. Please report any translator toolkit issues experienced to Customer Support.
Drivers
For Windows users, the minimum NVIDIA driver required is v.551.23 or above but an NVIDIA driver 553.62 is recommended for RGB raytracing and spectral raytracing.
At the time of release, driver versions between 555 and 570 were found to cause issues.
For Linux users, the minimum NVIDIA driver required is v.550.54 or above for RGB raytracing and spectral raytracing.
Codecs
the following changes have been made to codecs:
- For VRED 2026.2, we added support for better hardware accelerated streaming by supporting the AV1 codec and H.265 low-latency video codecs. Find these setting in the Streaming App > Settings > Codec section.
- For VRED 2026 and 2026.1, the OpenH264 v2.6 codec is the minimum requirement for VRED Stream. Download it here: https://github.com/cisco/openh264
VR/XR
For VR/XR, the minimum requirements regarding runtimes are as follows:
- SteamVR 2.9.6 or newer for HMDs with SteamVR (OpenVR, OpenXR)
- VarjoBase 4.7.0.9 or newer for Varjo HMDs with Varjo Base (Varjo native mode, OpenXR)
- Meta Quest Link App 65.0.0.499.343 or newer for Meta/Oculus HMDs with Meta Quest Link App (OpenXR)
- VIVE XR Elite requires VIVE Business Streaming v.1.15.11c and the VIVE Business Streaming App v.1.0.21.14
Environment Variables
We added VRED_INSECURE_PYTHON. This disables the Python Sandbox. If VRED_SECURE_PYTHON is set, it will be ignored and VRED_INSECURE_PYTHON will override the command line option and preference settings.
Miscellaneous
The following were updated:
- DLSS was updated to 310.3.0
- ASM was updated to 231.5.0
- ATF was updated to 14.23.0
We removed support for 6.0 and 2014 BRDF models and now only support the latest BRDF model (GGX), as it is the only model supported in Vulkan. An informational dialog appears and the BRDF model is automatically converted. As a result of this change, the BRDF Behavior option was removed from Render Settings and the BRDF Behavior and Update BRDF Behavior from File options were removed from the preferences.