Premiere Pro 2023 vs Premiere Pro 2022: what is different?
Premiere Pro 2023 (23.x, released Oct 2022) saves projects with internal schema version 41. Premiere Pro 2022 (22.x, released Oct 2021) only understands up to 40, which is why opening the file shows “This project was saved in a newer version of Adobe Premiere Pro”. The message is a gate, not a judgement about the content.
| Premiere Pro 2023 | Premiere Pro 2022 | |
|---|---|---|
| Release | Oct 2022 | Oct 2021 |
| App build | 23.x | 22.x |
| Project Version attribute | 41 | 40 |
| XML serialisation | Dense (full fields) | Dense (full fields) |
What the converter changes in your file
A .prproj is gzip-compressed XML. The tool decompresses it, edits the root Project element, and compresses it again:
- <Project ObjectID="1" ClassID="62ad66dd-0dcd-42da-a660-6d8fbde94876" Version="41"> + <Project ObjectID="1" ClassID="62ad66dd-0dcd-42da-a660-6d8fbde94876" Version="40">
Both 2023 and 2022 use the dense serialisation, so no fields need rebuilding. Changing the version is the only edit required.
What you may lose going from 2023 to 2022
Features below were introduced after Premiere Pro 2022. Their data may stay in the XML, but Premiere Pro 2022 has no code to interpret it, so expect them to be ignored, flattened or missing:
Added in Premiere Pro 2023
- Speech-to-Text upgraded to 18 languages
- Mask colour visualisation and improved masking tools
- Sequence locking for Team Projects
- Faster hardware-accelerated export
Why this jump is rated low risk
- Adjacent major releases share most of their project schema, which is the safest case.
Step-by-step: open a 2023 project in 2022
- Duplicate your
.prproj. Never convert your only copy. - Drop it into the panel above and choose Premiere Pro 2022 as the target.
- Download the converted file and open it in Premiere Pro 2022. Expect a prompt about converting an older project, which is normal.
- Create a brand new empty project in Premiere Pro 2022 and import the converted project into it, rather than continuing in it.
- Scrub every sequence. Relink media if drive letters or paths differ.
Don't have Premiere Pro 2022? Open the Creative Cloud desktop app, choose All apps → Premiere Pro → Other versions and install it alongside your current version.