protonscr

VEGAS Pro 23 Steam Edition

protonopen appid 4006040Game compatibility - Unofficial
ValveSoftware/Proton#9968 · opened 2026-07-12 by WesleyMenegoniMendes · updated 2026-07-30 · 3 comments · github · game page · search this game
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WWesleyMenegoniMendes 2026-07-12 github

Compatibility Report

  • Name of the software with compatibility issues: MAGIX VEGAS Pro 23 Steam Edition
  • Steam AppID of the software: 4006040

System Information

I confirm:

  • [x] that I haven't found an existing compatibility report for this software.
  • [x] that I have checked whether there are updates for my system available.

Symptoms

VEGAS Pro 23 launches and initializes SteamAPI successfully (SteamAPI_Init(): Loaded 'steamclient64.dll' OK), but immediately shows the error "There is no license to use this software" ("Não há licença para usar este software"). The app never reaches the editor.

Log analysis (both GE-Proton10-34 and Proton Experimental) shows the app's MAGIX "Protein" DRM/licensing module (ws2_32.dll, crypt32.dll, bcrypt.dll all load as builtin) fails before making any network connection — zero connect() calls appear in the PROTON_LOG output. This suggests the DRM check fails during a local crypto/certificate step (likely something in the crypt32/bcrypt/Schannel chain) rather than during actual license verification against MAGIX's servers.

This makes the app completely unusable under Proton, on both upstream Proton Experimental and GE-Proton.

Reproduction

  1. Install "VEGAS Pro 23 Steam Edition" (AppID 4006040) via Steam
  2. Force Proton Experimental (or GE-Proton) as the compatibility tool
  3. Launch the app normally
  4. App opens the Steam overlay/API fine, then immediately shows "There is no license to use this software" and closes/blocks further use
  5. No crash, no network log activity — confirmed via PROTON_LOG=1 %command%, log attached
WWesleyMenegoniMendes 2026-07-13 github

Follow-up: the DRM is fully passable outside Proton — narrowing where a fix should go

To confirm the earlier root-cause finding, I ran VEGAS Pro 23 under plain Wine (wine 11.8 Staging), not Proton, using the real Windows Steam client installed inside the same Wine prefix (so steamclient64.dll is Valve's real DLL instead of Proton's lsteamclient). Combined with native bcrypt.dll + crypt32.dll (from a Windows 11 install), the Protein DRM no longer blocks anythingvegas230.exe loads its entire engine stack (wined3d, d3d10core, d2d1, DWrite, OpenColorIO, and finally atlantic.dll, VEGAS's core) with no "no license" popup at all. Under Proton this app dies almost immediately at the DRM check.

Key observations that may help whoever picks this up:

  1. The blocker is Wine's builtin bcrypt (CNG). Native bcrypt = Protein passes; builtin bcrypt = error -57 / "no license". This is consistent across both Proton and plain-Wine runs.
  2. Why native bcrypt can't just be forced under Proton: lsteamclient (Proton's steamclient64.dll bridge) depends on Proton's patched builtin bcrypt; forcing native bcrypt breaks the Steam bridge (SteamAPI_Init(): Failed to load module 'steamclient64.dll', exit 53). So the two can't coexist by DLL substitution — the actual fix has to be inside Wine's dlls/bcrypt, correctly implementing whatever CNG operation Protein relies on, so the builtin works for both.
  3. Additional non-DRM dependency: on a clean prefix, vegas230.exe also needs mfc140u.dll (VC++ 2015-2022 / MFC redist), otherwise it fails with c0000135 STATUS_DLL_NOT_FOUND right after loading atlantic.dll. winetricks vcrun2022 or copying the MFC runtime resolves that.
  4. The only reason the plain-Wine run didn't reach the editor UI is the Steamworks handshake needing the app to be launched by the Steam client (normal Steam DRM behavior) — not a Wine bug.

I don't have the bandwidth or the Wine-internals knowledge to write and build the bcrypt patch myself, so I'm leaving this here as documentation. If anyone wants to pursue the proper fix, the next diagnostic step is a WINEDEBUG=+bcrypt trace of the builtin-bcrypt run to identify the exact failing CNG call. Happy to capture that if it would help someone who can act on it.

HHoff16 2026-07-19 github

@WesleyMenegoniMendes I had a similar issue at the same spot. I was able to get around it by running Proton Experimental Bleeding Edge so that might be the fix for you. Try giving it a shot!

https://github.com/ValveSoftware/Proton/wiki/Proton-Versions

WWesleyMenegoniMendes 2026-07-30 github

@Hoff16 Unfortunately unsuccessful, same problem.

Proton versions

Launch options

DLLs