For those who don’t know the tool: Poser 14 is Bondware’s long-running 3D character posing and animation package, first released in 1995 and now mainly used for illustration, comics, and previs. It provides rigged figures, props and render engines like SuperFly and FireFly.
A venerable poser returns (and we almost missed it)
In the festive mail avalanche, we briefly lost sight of one of CG’s oldest names. Bondware quietly shipped Poser 14 in late November 2025. We only noticed now, and the fault is entirely ours. Missing a veteran like Poser feels mildly sacrilegious, so here’s a proper look at what’s new and what’s missing.
The update in short: simpler materials, tidier backgrounds
Poser 14 focuses on usability rather than expansion. The release adds a reinstated Simple Material tab to the Material Room, designed to simplify PBR (Physically Based Rendering) workflows. Artists can now drag texture maps exported from tools like Substance Painter directly into the interface, skipping the former multi-node complexity.
A new Simple Background tab consolidates scattered controls for environment setup into a single location. Users can choose from four background types (colour, static image, movie, or HDRI environment) with a real-time HDRI preview now built in.
Rendering: updated SuperFly and Intel Arc support
The SuperFly render engine has been updated to the latest stable version of Cycles, providing improved ray tracing stability and compatibility with Intel Arc GPUs through Intel’s OneAPI framework. FireFly Renderer remains available for compatibility with legacy scenes, alongside non-photorealistic render modes such as Cartoon, Comic Book, and Sketch.
Goodbye Cloth Room (for now)
The most visible removal is the Cloth Room, the long-standing simulation module for dynamic clothing. Bondware acknowledges the change directly, advising users who depend on cloth simulation to continue with Poser 13. According to the developers, new simulation options are being investigated, and a return of cloth dynamics is on the roadmap, but without a timeline so far.
Platform changes and pricing
Poser 14 is now Windows-only. The macOS edition has been discontinued, with Bondware citing a desire to “streamline” development toward the majority user base. The simplification also extends to pricing: the full licence now costs 175 USD (down from 199 USD), while upgrades from Poser 11, 12, or 13 are available for 99.95 USD. A 21-day free trial version is also provided.
Compatibility and legacy features
Poser 14 retains Python scripting, support for LaFemme and L’Homme figures (versions 1 and 2), HiveWire3D content, and render layers in FireFly. The internal content library continues to ship with over 30 GB of bundled figures, props and environments. System requirements list Windows 10 or later (64-bit), 16 GB RAM, and an OpenGL-capable GPU. CUDA and OptiX are recommended for GPU rendering.
Poser 14 in context
After three decades, Poser remains one of the few dedicated figure-posing environments not tied to a larger DCC (Digital Content Creation) suite. The latest release suggests Bondware is favouring long-term maintenance and accessibility over feature expansion. Whether that approach will restore Poser’s relevance against free alternatives like Daz Studio remains to be seen. Still, the team’s willingness to cut complexity may please those who simply want to light, pose, and render without fighting their tools. As always, artists should test new releases thoroughly before introducing them into production pipelines.
