The OBS Project published the second release candidate of OBS Studio 33.0 late on 16 October 2026 (UTC), following a first release candidate on 9 October and a series of beta builds. Release candidates are pre-release builds; the current stable version when we checked was 32.2.2. Two of the changes matter for anyone who streams or records events with OBS: plugins now load from a new location, and the engine behind browser sources has had a major update. This report is based on the published release notes and knowledge base; we have not tested the release candidate.
Update, 21 October 2026: a third release candidate followed late on 20 October (UTC). Its only listed change fixes browser sources not working when OBS Studio is run as administrator on Windows 11.
Update, 24 October 2026: the final OBS Studio 33.0 was released late on 23 October (UTC). See our report on the 33.0 release.
Plugins move to a new structure
OBS Studio 33 overhauls how plugins are loaded. First-party modules move into a new core folder from which only official plugins load, and third-party plugins get a single supported location and folder structure. According to the OBS knowledge base, plugins installed in the old locations will still work in 33.0 but are flagged as Legacy in the plugin manager, and they will not be loaded from OBS Studio 34.0 onwards. On Windows, plugins installed under Program Files are named as the location many plugins were wrongly installed to.
Event productions often depend on third-party plugins for graphics, remote control, extra outputs or audio routing. Before upgrading a show machine, open the plugin manager, note which plugins are flagged as Legacy and check whether each plugin’s author has published an updated installer.
Browser sources get a new engine
The Chromium Embedded Framework behind browser sources and docks moves from version 127 to 150. The release notes describe this as a massive update, from a July 2024 base to September 2026, intended to be invisible to users, and ask people to report any new problems with browser sources. Many events use browser sources for lower thirds, timers, sponsor loops and live polling results, so this is the area to rehearse. The release candidates have already fixed browser sources appearing blank on refresh and failing local network requests during the beta cycle.
Other changes worth knowing
- Studio Mode groups. Fixes stop sources moved inside a group from glitching in, or appearing live in, the Program view.
- Audio monitoring hotkeys. New hotkeys control audio monitoring for a source.
- Missing encoder check. OBS now checks for missing encoders when a profile is loaded, useful when a profile moves between machines.
- Platform support. The notes list removal of support for Ubuntu 24.04, and NVENC is enabled on Arm64.
- Safe Mode. Safe Mode no longer starts the WebSocket server, which matters if you control OBS remotely.
What to do before an event
Do not upgrade a production machine to a release candidate in the week of a show. When the final 33.0 release arrives, install it on a spare machine first, load your real scene collection and profile, and run the whole running order, including every browser source and plugin. Keep the installer for the version you know works. These are suggested precautions, not results of our testing.
Sources
- OBS Studio 33.0.0 Release Candidate 2 release notes (16 October 2026)
- OBS knowledge base: Legacy plugin locations (21 September 2026)
- OBS Project: OBS Studio downloads
Sources checked 19 October 2026. Changes are taken from the OBS Project’s published release notes and knowledge base. Event Tech News has not tested this release.
In the directory: Compare live streaming software for events in the vendor directory.
