Every .prproj stores one integer that identifies the schema of the release that wrote it. It sits in the root element of the decompressed XML, usually on line 3 or 4:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?> <PremiereData Version="3"> <Project ObjectRef="1"/> <Project ObjectID="1" ClassID="62ad66dd-0dcd-42da-a660-6d8fbde94876" Version="43">
Note that PremiereData Version="3" is the container format and has stayed at 3 for years. The number that matters is the one on the Project element.
| Release | Project version | App build | Released | Serialisation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premiere 2026 | 45 | 26.x | Jan 2026 | Sparse |
| Premiere Pro 2025 | 43 | 25.x | Oct 2024 | Dense |
| Premiere Pro 2024 | 42 | 24.x | Oct 2023 | Dense |
| Premiere Pro 2023 | 41 | 23.x | Oct 2022 | Dense |
| Premiere Pro 2022 | 40 | 22.x | Oct 2021 | Dense |
| Premiere Pro 2021 | 39 | 15.x | Mar 2021 | Dense |
| Premiere Pro 2020.1 | 38 | 14.x | Apr 2020 | Dense |
| Premiere Pro 2020 | 37 | 14.0 | Nov 2019 | Dense |
| Premiere Pro CC 2019.1 | 36 | 13.1 | Apr 2019 | Dense |
| Premiere Pro CC 2019 | 35 | 13.0 | Oct 2018 | Dense |
| Premiere Pro CC 2018.1 | 34 | 12.1 | Oct 2017 | Dense |
| Premiere Pro CC 2018 | 33 | 12.0 | Oct 2017 | Dense |
| Premiere Pro CC 2017 | 32 | 11.x | Nov 2016 | Dense |
| Premiere Pro CC 2015.1 | 30 | 9.x | 2015 | Dense |
| Premiere Pro CC 2015 | 29 | 9.0 | Jun 2015 | Dense |
| Premiere Pro CC 2014.1 | 28 | 8.x | 2014 | Dense |
| Premiere Pro CC 2014 | 27 | 8.0 | Jun 2014 | Dense |
| Premiere Pro CC | 26 | 7.0 | Jun 2013 | Dense |
| Premiere Pro CS6 | 25 | 6.0 | May 2012 | Dense |
Caveats about these numbers
- Version 44 has never been tied to a public build. The community jump from 43 (2025) to 45 (2026) suggests it was used internally or in betas.
- Beta builds write the next number early. A “2023” project saved from the 2024 beta carries 42 and will not open in 23.6.
- Lists disagree slightly around 2019 and 2020. Some community tables put 13.1.5 at 37 and 14.x at 38, while the most cited map and the prem-down engine use 35/36 for 2019/2019.1 and 37/38 for 2020/2020.1. We follow the latter.
- Sparse vs dense: releases above 43 write the sparse form; 43 and below require the dense form. That boundary is what decides whether a downgrade needs field re-insertion.