The open-source 3D creation software, Blender, will be picked up by the Japanese anime studio, Khara. It’ll begin partially using the software for its current development ‘EVANGELION:3.0+1.0’ but will make the full switch once that project is finished. The current project is expected to end in June next year, so after that point, its employees will start using Blender for the majority of their work.

At the moment, Khara uses 3ds Max from Autodesk on a subscription basis; however, the company found that it had to reach out to small and medium-sized businesses for its projects. Due to the limitations of those companies, it’s harder for them to afford 3ds Max. By switching to Blender, Khara says it can work better with external firms.

While Blender will be used for the bulk of the work, Khara does have a backup plan if there’s anything Blender struggles with; Hiroyasu Kobayashi, General Manager of Digital Dpt. and Director of Board of Khara, said:

“There are currently some areas where Blender cannot take care of our needs, but we can solve it with the combination with Unity. Unity is usually enough to cover 3ds Max and Maya as well. Unity can be a bridge among environments.”

Aside from Khara and the companies it works with saving thousands of dollars each year, the Blender Foundation will also benefit. At the end of July, Khara announced that it would be joining the Blender Foundation’s Development Fund as a corporate member. This will help Blender grow and become even more capable at delivering the needs of its users.