Hello @Tseshongfeeshur, we're using one issue report per unofficially supported game title, so I've gone ahead and transferred this issue report to https://github.com/ValveSoftware/Proton/issues/9021#issuecomment-5016228860.
proton experimentalx1 2026-07mediacontrol.dllx1 2026-07mediaplayer.dllx1 2026-07
Compatibility Report
System Information
I confirm:
Symptoms
On launch (or shortly after starting playback), the game shows a native
MessageBox with the text "This application requires a package identity."
Closing the dialog immediately terminates the process.
Proton debug log shows the app activates
Windows.Media.Playback.MediaPlayervia
RoGetActivationFactory, which succeeds, but the subsequentQueryInterfacecall forget_SystemMediaTransportControls()fails withE_NOINTERFACEand is immediately followed by a genuineEXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION(code=c0000005) insidewindows.media.playback.mediaplayer.dll:The application uses the recommended unpackaged-desktop-app path
(
MediaPlayer.SystemMediaTransportControlsproperty, notSystemMediaTransportControls.GetForCurrentView()), which per Microsoftdocumentation does not require MSIX package identity, so this appears to be a
Wine implementation gap rather than a genuine Windows restriction being
correctly replicated. A Wine merge request implementing
IMediaPlayer2::get_SystemMediaTransportControls()(https://gitlab.winehq.org/wine/wine/-/merge_requests/8951) suggests this
method was previously unimplemented / only partially implemented, matching
the observed "activation succeeds, QueryInterface crashes" behavior.
Reproduced identically on both Proton Experimental (20260713) (LOG) and the latest
GE-Proton, with the same crash address and same DLLs involved
(
windows.media.playback.mediaplayer.dll,windows.media.mediacontrol.dll).Manually replacing these two builtin DLLs with the versions from a native Arch Linux Wine install
(which does not exhibit this crash when running the exe outside Steam) did
not resolve the issue, suggesting either an ABI mismatch was silently masking
the swap, or the crash originates from a related code path not covered by
just these two files.
Reproduction
Experimental or GE-Proton.