Maverick Render 2026.3: Denoising and 2x Upscaling with OptiX DEN2x

Software company RandomControl released version 2026.3 of its physically based GPU render engines Maverick Studio and Maverick Indie in the first week of September 2026. The official changelog gives the build date as 3 September 2026. In an announcement published on its blog on 7 September, the company described the release as rendering “up to 4x faster” thanks to the move to OptiX 9.1 and the new DEN2X AI-powered denoiser and upscaler. CG Channel also covered the update in its software roundup dated 13 September.

According to CG Channel, Maverick is a GPU render engine aimed at product and automotive visualization in its Studio edition, and at the entertainment industry in its Indie edition. Studio supports CAD files, NURBS data and section rendering; it also includes a bridge plugin for direct integration with Rhino. This makes it a tool worth considering for interior architecture and design teams working on furniture, lighting fixtures and product visualization.

OptiX DEN2x: denoising and upscaling in one step

The update’s headline feature is the new OptiX DEN2x mode. According to the changelog, it combines denoising with 2x upscaling and is enabled when Render US is set to 1. RandomControl says this combination can render up to 4x faster.

The idea is simple: the render engine calculates the image at half the target resolution, then an AI-powered model both removes noise and doubles the image size. Since the pixel count is reduced to a quarter, the computational load also drops significantly. This brings the AI upscaling approach common in real-time engines to the final output of a production render engine.

It’s worth remembering that “up to 4x” is the manufacturer’s claim, and actual gains will vary depending on the scene, resolution and hardware. Images containing fine texture detail, small text and thin lines should be compared with renders produced at native resolution.

Navigation US and Render US: separate controls for navigation and final rendering

The release’s second major addition is on the interactive rendering (IPR) side. Maverick now offers two independent controls, Navigation US and Render US. According to the changelog, they provide faster interactive rendering and configurable final sampling density. In other words, you can use a quick, low-density preview while navigating the scene, then switch to a higher-density render when you stop.

Other IPR improvements include:

• Interactive navigation is now noticeably faster and smoother.

• When rendering with a single GPU, accumulated data is kept on the GPU during navigation, avoiding unnecessary full-frame transfers to the CPU.

• The IPR information bar now displays Navigation/Render US values and active render modes.

• Changes to the IPR denoiser mode, saving the current IPR viewpoint as the active camera, and creating a camera keyframe from that viewpoint can now be undone.

The move to OptiX 9.1 is complete

Maverick upgraded its core to CUDA 13.0 and OptiX 9.1 in the July 2026.1 release. With 2026.3, that transition is complete, and the denoiser has been upgraded to an AOV model with improved albedo and normal guidance. Albedo and normal data are auxiliary passes that help the denoiser preserve texture and geometry edges; the improvements promise cleaner results, particularly for wood grain, fabric textures and sharp-edged furniture details.

The release also updates the Spinner exporter, which creates interactive 360-degree product views that can be published on the web, to WebexSpinner 3.0. Undo issues in the LightMixer, Normalight and Ambience Composer tools, as well as a LightMixer crash in 2026.2, have also been fixed.

Pricing and system requirements

According to CG Channel, pricing and system requirements are unchanged from 2026.2:

Impact on archviz and product visualization

Maverick isn’t a render engine focused on building-scale archviz like V-Ray or Corona; its strengths lie in product, furniture and detail visualization. However, teams producing catalog images for furniture manufacturers, product renders for lighting companies or presentations of custom furniture for interior architecture firms may often encounter the engine. Its Rhino bridge, CAD support and ability to create 360-degree product views for the web directly serve these use cases.

The DEN2x approach also points to a trend worth watching across the industry. Rendering at half resolution and upscaling with AI has mostly been used in real-time engines and previews. Bringing it to final renders could significantly reduce render times for catalog work that requires many variations and camera angles.