OBS Studio 33 is nearing its stable debut, now on Beta 4. One major change is a Chromium Embedded Framework upgrade, moving CEF from version 127/6533 to 150/7871.
This updates the browser-source backend from a July 2024 codebase to one from September 2026. The OBS team says the change should be mostly invisible to users but recommends watching for regressions affecting browser sources and docks.
Another major change is a complete overhaul of plugin loading. First-party plugins now live in a new core directory, while third-party plugins use a revised installation location and folder structure. Existing third-party plugins will continue loading from old locations for now, but only until OBS Studio 34, giving developers and users time to adapt.
Source snapping in the preview has also been improved. OBS Studio 33 adds a new visual indicator, allows sources to snap along an entire axis rather than only when directly touching another source, and prevents hidden sources from affecting snapping behavior.
The release also brings several usability improvements. Numeric input fields now behave more consistently, with values applied after pressing Enter, improved cursor handling, and support for using Shift with arrow keys to move through values in larger steps. NVIDIA users on Arm64 systems also gain NVENC support.
Moreover, OBS Studio 33 adds hotkeys for controlling source audio monitoring, improves fullscreen game detection for Game Capture, adds support for newer NVIDIA Broadcast SDKs, and fixes several Studio Mode issues involving grouped sources. macOS users should also see better transparency handling with Screen Capture.
Linux receives several notable changes as well. OBS Studio 33 drops support for Ubuntu 24.04 LTS and fixes a potential crash caused by removing a USB microphone. It also fixes an issue where PipeWire screencast sources could appear duplicated in Studio Mode. Official Beta 4 packages are provided for Ubuntu 26.04 LTS.
There is also a sizeable batch of general fixes, including improvements to Hybrid MP4/MOV file splitting, a fix for streams potentially disconnecting because of incorrect AMF B-frame offset calculations, and fixes for several crashes and deadlocks.
Finally, on the developer side, Safe Mode now prevents third-party plugins from loading entirely, while first-party plugins can detect whether OBS is running in Safe Mode. Flatpak plugin extension points now carry version information as well, alongside several API and library changes that plugin developers will want to review.
For additional details, see the project’s GitHub changelog.
