OBS Studio 33 released with major browser engine and plugin overhaul
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
OBS Studio 33 released, upgrading its embedded Chromium browser engine from version 127 to 150.
The free streaming tool's plugin changes affect creators and third-party add-on developers.
Background
OBS Studio is free, open-source, cross-platform software for recording video and live streaming. Version 33 is a major update that jumps its embedded Chromium Embedded Framework (CEF, the browser technology OBS uses for things like browser sources) from version 127 to 150, moving it from July 2024 to September 2026. It also overhauls how plugins load: first-party plugins move to a new folder named core, third-party plugins get a new installation location and folder structure, and existing third-party plugins keep loading from legacy locations until OBS Studio 34. The release also drops official support for Ubuntu 24.04 LTS and removes support for FFmpeg 6.x and 7.x and Qt 6.4 through 6.9.
How it unfolded
- Oct 20, 2026OBS Forums users report OBS 32.2.2 and 33.0.0 RC crash on launch on macOS 27.2 RC; one says downgrading to OBS 31.x works but is incompatible with Ulanzi Studio.
- Oct 21, 2026The GitHub milestone for OBS Studio 33.0 is last updated, listed at 82% complete, with items marked under consideration and not promised for the release.
- Oct 23, 2026OBS Studio 33.0 is released, upgrading Chromium Embedded Framework from version 127 to 150 and improving plugin loading.
Who’s saying what
- Analysts
- Phoronix framed the release around a massive CEF update and improved plugin loading.
- Caution
- OBS Forums users reported that OBS 32.2.2 and the 33.0 RC would not run on macOS 27.2 RC, with one suspecting a Qt issue.
Still unverified
A social post said OBS Studio 33.0.0 was released and fixed a crash in the browser migration code on Windows, while another post said version 32.2.2 was still the newest and only a release-candidate build was visible on GitHub. Forum users reported the macOS 27.2 RC launch crash as possibly a Qt issue, but no cause is confirmed.