yes zbrush is another big one! I have not really used yet, it's probably essential for character modelling. not sure how necessary it is for designing characters or creatures. 🤔
Discussion
it's industry standard.. studios are not using blender as far as I am aware. But I'm really tempted to start learning Blender just because there are a ton of tutorials, resources on blender.
yes there are so many resources, tutorials etc. for blender! as it is open source, I can imagine it will become more widely used in the future. we only used blender at FZD and I have experienced it being used in two different game companies in berlin. also, there is the largest variety of plug-ins and add-ons, you pretty much emulate all other 3D software with it, up to a point.
*you could emulate