From Gaussian Splats to Immersive Experiences Taking Over 2026
2026 continues to move fast. From real-world volumetric production and Gaussian splats at scale to cross-collaboration immersive experiences, and behind-the-scenes momentum toward a bigger RenderCon, here’s what you need to know this week across the Render Network ecosystem.
David Ariew at Sphere: Viridian Lightfall
David Ariew continues to push large-format digital art forward with “Viridian Lightfall,” the first XO/Art collaboration inspired by The Wizard of Oz at Sphere.
The piece traces Dorothy’s journey from sepia Kansas into the vibrant Land of Oz, beginning in fields of golden light and building through a crescendo of color before arriving at the luminous green of Emerald City.
Designed for an ultra-large, immersive canvas, the work demanded extreme detail, scale, and rapid iteration.
As David shared:
The project highlights how distributed GPU rendering enables artists to design for environments like Sphere without compromising ambition, resolution, or creative control.
SUBMERGE x VivoBarefoot: Movement Meets Immersive Media
SUBMERGE: Beyond the Render remains open through May, with January marking a key moment for immersive, large-format experiences.
On Friday, SUBMERGE brought together immersive media, movement, and wellness through a collaboration with VivoBarefoot — a footwear and wellness brand known for its minimalist (“barefoot”) philosophy.
Inside SUBMERGE’s 18K, 270-degree cinematic environment, rendered entirely on distributed GPUs, technologists, creators, journalists, and wellness leaders explored how physical activation and immersive storytelling intersect. The experience showcased what’s possible when real-world movement, large-format visuals, and decentralized compute converge into a single environment.
The Future of Creation: AI, Decentralized GPUs, and What Comes Next
Trevor sat down with CCN.com to talk all things Render and answer a big question:
How does the future of AI creation and rendering evolve from here?
Stay tuned for the full interview.
Volumetric Capture at Scale: A$AP Rocky’s Helicopter
The new Helicopter music video from A$AP Rocky is a real-world showcase of volumetric capture and Gaussian splats rendered in OctaneRender.
Built using next-generation Octane features, the project showcases how radiance-field and splat-based workflows are moving from experimental R&D into full production pipelines. Entire scenes were rendered in Octane, enabling complex volumetric environments that would have been impractical just a year ago.
On Hacker News, David Rhodes, co-founder of CG Nomads, shared how GSOPs (Gaussian Splatting Operators) for Houdini were used in combination with OctaneRender to produce the music video.
The post offered a rare behind-the-scenes look at how splat-based tools are being integrated into professional DCC pipelines today, along with open-source access for artists who want to experiment themselves.
Octane 2026 on Render
With Octane 2026 now live on the Render Network, artists and studios have production-grade support for Gaussian splats and radiance-field workflows running at scale, unlocking faster iteration, higher fidelity, and real-world deployment across music, film, and immersive media.
World Economic Forum 2026: Talk of an AI bubble is Overblown…
At this year’s World Economic Forum, much of the conversation around AI focused less on speculation and more on real economic impact. What’s holding progress back isn’t the technology itself, but the ability to run it at scale. As AI-powered creation and production move into real-world use, demand for flexible, high-performance GPU infrastructure continues to grow.
Behind the Scenes: RenderCon 2026 Takes Shape
Planning for RenderCon 2026 is well underway.
This year’s conference expands to two full days, taking place April 16–17, 2026 at Nya Studios in Hollywood, Los Angeles.
- Day One will feature talks and discussions across 3D, AI, rendering
- Day Two will be a full day of hands-on workshops designed specifically for artists and builders
Programming and speakers are actively being confirmed, with more details to be shared soon. Now is a good time to save the date and begin planning travel.
In the meantime, recorded sessions from RenderCon 2025 including conversations on the future of creative workflows, AI, and media are available to watch at rendercon.ai.
