Runway adds ByteDance's Seedance 2.5 video model
By Steven Van ·
The model brings 50 references, 30-second multi-shot clips with sound and dialogue, and Edit/Extend modes to all paid Runway plans.
Runway has added Seedance 2.5, ByteDance's new flagship video model, to its platform. The August 7 rollout brings the model's headline capabilities into Runway's toolset: up to 50 references per generation, clips up to 30 seconds with sound and dialogue, and the ability to edit and extend what you make. For creators who have been juggling short clips and stitching them together in post, this is the closest thing yet to generating a finished scene, not just a shot.
50 references per generation: build a world, not a shot
The biggest shift in Seedance 2.5 is how much material you can feed it. Runway's documentation breaks the 50-reference ceiling down into up to 30 images, 10 video clips of up to 30 seconds each, and 10 audio clips per generation. That is enough to define an entire cast of characters, a set of locations, a wardrobe, a color palette, and a soundtrack, then have the model keep all of it consistent across the clip.
Runway pitches this as world-building, and the framing is fair. Previous models forced you to describe characters in the prompt and hope they stayed on-model between generations. With this many reference slots, you can lock identity, environment, and style visually and reuse the same reference set across a whole project.
30 seconds of multi-shot video with sound and dialogue
Seedance 2.5 generates a single video from 4 to 30 seconds in one pass, and it is genuinely multi-shot: one generation can contain multiple scenes, camera angles, and pacing changes. Audio is built in, including dialogue and sound design, and you can toggle audio generation on or off per run. Aspect ratios cover everything from cinematic 21:9 down to vertical 9:16, so the same model serves both short film tests and TikTok-native work.
Edit and Extend keep your footage alive
On Runway, Seedance 2.5 ships with four creation modes: Reference, Keyframe, Edit, and Extend. Edit mode lets you modify an existing video with a prompt or a sketch, keeping the original aspect ratio and length. Extend mode continues a video forwards or backwards, which is how you push past the 30-second ceiling while staying inside the same visual world. The model is also available in Runway's Custom mode, Workflows, and Agent tools, so it can slot into automated pipelines, not just one-off generations.
Resolutions, credits, and the Max plan offer
One practical note: Seedance 2.5 on Runway outputs 480p and 720p. If you need 1080p today, Runway points you to Seedance 2.0, which remains available. Generation costs 30 credits per second at 720p and 20 credits per second at 480p, with a surcharge when you include input video references. The model is available on all paid plans, and Runway paired the launch with an offer: new Max plan subscribers get 7 days of unlimited Seedance 2.5 access.
Runway moves fast on the Seedance wave
ByteDance launched Seedance 2.5 on July 31 after previewing it at Volcano Engine's FORCE conference, first inside its own apps like Jimeng AI and Doubao. Barely a week later it is live on Runway, which already saw Seedance 2.0 become one of the most-used third-party models on the platform. Runway keeps positioning itself as the place where the best models show up regardless of who trained them, and for working creators that multi-model strategy keeps paying off: same interface, same credits, newest model.
Sources: Runway announcement on X, Runway Help Center: Creating with Seedance 2.5, TechNode: ByteDance launches Seedance 2.5