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V-Ray 7.40.04 for 3ds Max and Maya: What’s New
POSTED 24th OF Aug, 2026, Posted by Summer Magdaraog
Chaos has released V-Ray 7.40.04 for 3ds Max and Maya. The update adds native 3D Gaussian Splat rendering for 3ds Max, expands USD support, adds new V-Ray GPU and color-management capabilities for Maya, and fixes several rendering and stability issues.
For 3ds Max, this release is V-Ray 7 Update 4 Hotfix 2, released on August 13, 2026. For Maya, it is V-Ray 7.4 Update 4 Hotfix 1, released on July 29, 2026.
What's New in V-Ray 7.40.04 for 3ds Max?
Native 3D Gaussian Splat Rendering
The main addition is initial rendering support for native 3D Gaussian Splats from 3ds Max.
Gaussian Splats let artists work with captured real-world scenes and objects as part of a 3D workflow. V-Ray 7 Update 4 introduced Gaussian Splat relighting, and this hotfix adds native rendering support for Gaussian Splats in 3ds Max.
USD 0.15 and 0.16 Support
V-Ray now supports USD 0.15 and USD 0.16 in 3ds Max, improving compatibility with workflows that use newer USD versions.
Other 3ds Max Changes
The update also:
- Restores editing for Scans materials with the V-Ray Solo plan.
- Makes the middle layers in V-Ray Parallax Texture visible by default.
- Adds Autoexposure to Chaos Vantage when using Perspective view in the viewport.
- Introduces the initial implementation of in-product notifications.
3ds Max Bug Fixes
V-Ray 7.40.04 also fixes issues across rendering, V-Ray GPU, V-Ray Frame Buffer, Chaos Vantage, and other parts of the workflow.
Notable fixes include problems with:
- Gaussian Splat, light, and object visibility overrides when using the V-Ray Physical Camera.
- V-Ray GPU scenes using texture compression with the HIP engine.
- FumeFX scenes containing cloth.
- V-Ray Frame Buffer background blending and Vignette controls.
- V-Ray LightMix Rest channel data when Denoise Light Cache is enabled.
- Shading of backfacing geometry with VRayVolumeGrid, Environment Fog, or Chaos Phoenix.
What's New in V-Ray 7.40.04 for Maya?
The Maya update focuses on USD compatibility, color management, and V-Ray GPU.
Maya USD 0.37.0 Support
V-Ray 7.40.04 adds support for MayaUSD 0.37.0. Chaos lists support for MayaUSD 0.37 with Maya 2025, 2026, and 2027.
Color Management and V-Ray GPU
The update also adds:
- Support for color spaces from the ASWF ColorInterop Forum.
- Material Select render element support for V-Ray GPU.
Maya Bug Fixes
The Maya hotfix addresses several rendering and stability issues, including:
- A crash when rendering USD scenes on Linux.
- Empty renders from USD files without RenderSettings.
- RTX and CUDA options appearing on systems with only AMD GPUs.
- A Chaos Cloud crash involving Cryptomatte and Light Cache.
- V-Ray Frame Buffer issues when rotating the Vignette layer beyond 45 degrees.
- Incorrect distributed-rendering buckets in certain camera workflows.
Is V-Ray 7.40.04 a Major V-Ray Release?
No. V-Ray 7.40.04 is a hotfix release within V-Ray 7 Update 4, not a new major version.
The larger V-Ray 7 Update 4 release introduced features such as Gaussian Splat relighting, real-time viewport workflows with Chaos Vantage, AMD GPU support, and other rendering and workflow improvements. The 7.40.04 builds add further changes and fixes to that release.
Should You Update to V-Ray 7.40.04?
The update is worth considering if you use Gaussian Splats, USD, V-Ray GPU, Chaos Vantage, or any of the features and issues addressed in the release.
For active productions, it is still a good idea to test the new build with your existing scenes, plugins, and pipeline before rolling it out across a project.
Get V-Ray from Motion Media
Need a V-Ray license for 3ds Max or Maya? Motion Media is an authorized Chaos reseller, offering V-Ray licensing for individual artists, freelancers, and studios.