DeskScapes 2026 vs. Gloomia: Stardock's AI Wallpaper Generator, Compared
Stardock has been making Windows desktop customization software since the OS/2 era, and DeskScapes, its animated-wallpaper app, has been part of that lineup since the Windows Vista days. On May 20, 2026, Stardock released DeskScapes 2026, and the headline addition isn't more curated scenes, it's on-device AI: a tool that generates wallpaper images locally, restyles photos you already have, upscales low-resolution art, and then lets you animate the result in a new editor called Hybrid Dream. It's a genuinely different pitch from most of what's out there, including Gloomia, so it's worth a real, fact-checked comparison rather than a vague "which is better" verdict.
The short version: DeskScapes 2026 and Gloomia are solving adjacent but different problems. One is a generator and editor for building your own wallpaper from scratch or from your own images. The other is a catalog of pre-built, continuously rendered scenes, several of them wired to real-world data, that you pick and run. Which one actually fits you depends on whether you want to make something or just want something good already running.
What's actually new in DeskScapes 2026
According to Stardock's own release coverage, DeskScapes 2026's main additions are an AI-powered wallpaper generator, an AI Restyle tool that reimagines an existing image in a new artistic style, and an upscaling feature for bringing lower-resolution images up to desktop quality. All three run on-device rather than through a cloud service, which Stardock frames as meaning no tokens and no per-generation costs once you own the app. Layered on top of that is a new Hybrid Dream editor for building animated backgrounds, alongside an expanded effects library. DeskScapes 2026 targets Windows 11 24H2 and later specifically, needs about 2 GB of RAM and 400 MB of disk space, and its installer checks your hardware to decide whether to enable the AI features at all.
Pricing is $6.99 during the current launch period, normally $9.99, and a license activates on up to five devices. DeskScapes is also bundled into Stardock's Object Desktop suite, which includes other Windows utilities like Fences, Start11, Groupy, SoundPackager, and Multiplicity.
Where the two apps genuinely differ
The biggest difference isn't price or polish, it's what each app is actually built to produce. DeskScapes 2026 hands you tools: an AI generator, a restyle filter, an upscaler, and an editor to animate the result. What you get out of it depends heavily on what you put in and how much time you spend in the editor. Gloomia works the other way around. It's a fixed catalog of scenes that are already built, rendered continuously in real time rather than played back as a looping video or a static AI image with an added motion layer, and you pick the one that fits your desktop rather than assembling one yourself.
That distinction matters most for the wallpapers that depend on something DeskScapes' AI tools simply have no path to: real, live data. Gloomia's Constellations, Orrery, and Asteroid Watch wallpapers aren't generated images, they're computed scenes. Constellations renders the actual night sky for your real coordinates, Orrery positions the Sun and planets where they actually are right now, and Asteroid Watch pulls from a live NASA/JPL near-Earth object feed. No image generator, however capable, can produce that, because it isn't an image to begin with, it's a simulation being drawn fresh every frame.
The same split shows up with sound. Gloomia's audio-reactive wallpapers, Aurora Flow, Spectrum Bars, Radial Pulse, and Waveform Ribbon, listen to whatever's playing on your system and move with it in real time. That's a rendering pipeline responding to a live audio signal, not something an AI image generator or a Hybrid Dream animation, however good the effects library gets, is built to do.
The one place DeskScapes and Gloomia actually overlap
If there's a genuine point of comparison, it's DeskScapes' AI-generated and restyled images versus Gloomia's Model Viewer wallpaper, both let you bring something personal to your desktop rather than picking purely from a preset list. The approach is different, though: DeskScapes takes a 2D image, generates or restyles it with on-device AI, and animates it as a flat scene. Model Viewer instead loads an actual .glb or .gltf 3D file you own or download, and renders it as a real object in space, lit and turned in three dimensions rather than an image with movement layered over it.
Platform reach: Windows-only versus Windows, macOS, and Linux
DeskScapes 2026 targets Windows 11 24H2 and later specifically, and Stardock's Object Desktop suite as a whole has always been a Windows product line, there's no macOS or Linux version. Gloomia takes the opposite approach: it has real, signed builds for Windows, macOS, and Linux, not a Windows build with other platforms as an afterthought. The macOS and Linux breakdown covers exactly what's identical across all three and what few features remain Windows-only within Gloomia itself. If you're not on Windows, or you split your time between machines on different operating systems, that alone settles which app is even an option.
Pricing and device limits, side by side
DeskScapes 2026 is $6.99 during its current launch window, reverting to $9.99 afterward, and a single purchase activates on up to five devices. It's a one-time purchase model, with no separate subscription mentioned for the app itself, though it's also sold as part of the broader paid Object Desktop suite alongside Stardock's other utilities. Gloomia's structure is built around a genuinely free tier first: three wallpapers, Starfield, Planet System, and Hue Drift, are free forever with no account required at all. Unlocking the other 20-plus wallpapers needs Gloomia Pro, either a one-time $9.99 early-adopter purchase, normally $14.99, or $2.99 a year if you'd rather pay less up front. A Gloomia Pro license activates on up to three devices, two fewer than DeskScapes' five, and comes with a 30-day refund window. The free versus Pro breakdown covers the purchase and activation flow in more detail if you're weighing the numbers closely.
Who each app is actually for
If what you want is to turn a photo you already love, or an idea you can describe, into a moving wallpaper, and you're comfortable spending time in an editor to get the animation right, DeskScapes 2026's generation and restyle tools are a real, novel capability, and Stardock has over a decade of experience building the animated-wallpaper side of the app around it. If what you want is to open an app, pick a scene that's already finished, and have it running in under a minute, without touching an editor, Gloomia's approach is the more direct path, especially if any of the real-data or audio-reactive scenes are what drew you in, since those aren't things an image generator can replicate no matter how good it gets. And if you're not on Windows at all, DeskScapes isn't in the running regardless of which style you prefer.
Neither app is a strict upgrade over the other, they're aimed at different instincts: build something yourself, or pick something already built well. Gloomia's free tier costs nothing to try against DeskScapes' launch price if you want to compare the two scene-for-scene on your own desktop before deciding which instinct actually matches how you want to spend your time. For a look at how Gloomia stacks up against a different kind of Windows-only competitor, the Lively Wallpaper comparison covers another corner of the same market.
Frequently asked questions
What is DeskScapes 2026?
DeskScapes 2026 is a Windows desktop wallpaper app from Stardock, released May 20, 2026, that adds on-device AI wallpaper generation, an AI Restyle tool for reimagining existing images, AI upscaling, and a new Hybrid Dream editor for building animated backgrounds. It's part of Stardock's long-running Object Desktop suite, alongside apps like Fences and Start11.
Does DeskScapes 2026 work on macOS or Linux?
No. DeskScapes 2026 is built for Windows 11 24H2 and later, and Stardock's Object Desktop suite as a whole is Windows-only. Gloomia, by contrast, has real signed builds for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
How is Gloomia different from DeskScapes 2026?
The core difference is what each app is generating. DeskScapes 2026 is built around turning your own images into wallpapers, using on-device AI to create, restyle, or upscale them, then animating the result in its Hybrid Dream editor. Gloomia instead ships a catalog of pre-built, continuously rendered scenes, several of which use live real-world data, such as Constellations, Orrery, and Asteroid Watch, plus audio-reactive wallpapers that move with whatever you're listening to.
Which is cheaper, DeskScapes 2026 or Gloomia?
DeskScapes 2026 costs $6.99 during its launch period, normally $9.99, and activates on up to five devices. Gloomia gives you three wallpapers free forever with no account needed, and Gloomia Pro unlocks the rest of the catalog for a one-time $9.99 early-adopter price, normally $14.99, or $2.99 a year, activating on up to three devices.
Can DeskScapes 2026 show real astronomical data like Gloomia's Orrery or Constellations?
No. DeskScapes 2026's features center on AI image generation, restyling, and upscaling plus an animated-background editor, not live data feeds. Gloomia's Orrery renders the real solar system at its actual current positions, Constellations renders the real night sky for your coordinates, and Asteroid Watch pulls from a live NASA/JPL near-Earth object feed.
Do I need an internet connection or account for either app?
Stardock says DeskScapes 2026's AI generation runs on-device rather than through a cloud service, so there are no tokens or per-generation costs. Gloomia's free tier needs no account at all, and Gloomia Pro simply emails you a license key to activate, with no ongoing account required to keep a wallpaper running.