• CharacterWorks 2026 is capable of importing Lottie files, enabling interoperability with third-party motion graphics design tools, such as Adobe After Effects^*.The importer translates^** the Lottie structure into CW’s own objects and abstractions, which means Lottie playback completely takes place through the CW rendering engine and not a dedicated, separate player. Once an existing design is imported into CW, data source links can be quickly established and instant, real-time, continuous uninterrupted playback can be attained without need for any additional rendering.

^* Adobe, and After Effects are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.
^** As not all Lottie features are currently supported, there is no guarantee that the exact same look of the Lottie content will be reproduced in CharacterWorks. This feature is intended to provide a good starting point for new CharacterWorks projects, from where the desired results can be achieved with further editing.

• The new Data Source makes CSV (Comma Separated Values) content from local files or web resources available to CW layers. This provides an easy-to-use, high-performance path for raw external real-time data into CharacterWorks.

• Data Source objects are no longer limited to retrieving data from external sources, they can also accept input data from other data source objects in the project. Also provided are two new special data sources, the XQuery Table Source and the XQuery Key-Value Source. These new flows enable new kinds of data processing. Some examples include: Providing a filtered and/or sorted version of an input data source, derivation of new data from existing data, conversion of data between key-value and table structures, and access to the use of more complex, multi-stage APIs.

• Animating on-screen text and graphics based on real-time changes in data is easier-than-ever in CW 2026, thanks to the new animation presets provided. Simply apply the desired preset to a layer, select the data field to react to in the Customizer Data Mapping section, and watch the layer automatically react to changing data during playback.

• The new Data Library provides Data Presets: Saved collections of data source objects, complete with parameter values and inter-source connections. These presets, just like the other kinds of presets provided by CW, provide practical setups for commonly encountered use cases, as well as sample setups for some commercial data providers. Many presets make use of the new data processing flows by providing a settings data source that offers an easy way to edit important parameters.

• Keyframe animations now support parametric Bezier interpolation in addition to the existing predefined modes. The Grid Controller Target Channel setting allows routing of grid controls to specific target channels, including the Preview channel. New built-in functions have been added to the CW Expression Language for improved processing capabilities. The new VideoFinished Behaviour Event facilitates the use of variable length media in data sources.Lots of new sample projects and library content have been added, including an advanced Broadcast Live Video Mixing setup^* that includes a specialized web-based remote control UI.

^*Requires the purchase of a Live Input Capture Option.

• Several new Material and Effect blocks are provided, including the GradientPiece block that can be used to form gradient chains and the Masken block that makes it possible to use any CW layer as a mask, with compositing support.

• Thanks to the efforts of our Japanese partner DStorm, Inc., CharacterWorks User Interface and Documentation have been translated to Japanese. The list of UI and Documentation languages available in CharacterWorks 2026 includes English, Japanese, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese.