Why doesn't Particular 4 load into Adobe After Effects 2021 or newer?

Particular 4 will not load into After Effects 2021 or newer on account it was not compatible with anything beyond Adobe After Effects 2020.

Users who opted to continue using Particular 4 beyond its compatibly scope were experiencing instability to the point that a joint decision was reached between Adobe and Maxon to have After Effects 25.3 and beyond block Particular 4 from loading entirely.

Users who wish to continue using Particular 4 can either:

• Subscribe to Red Giant or Maxon One to use the latest Particular version in the latest version of After Effects.
  • Particular is backwards-compatible and can migrate most older Particular instances into the current version, with the only caveat being some expressions users created will likely need to be rebuilt, as some parameters have since been renamed.
  • You can test out the latest version with a 14-day trial. We advise saving your Particular 4 work prior to using the latest version in a backup project in the event you are dissatisfied with the update.
• Revert to Particular 4's last-compatible environment, meaning use older versions of After Effects.
  • If you decide to go with this option, we'd advise not upgrading your environment beyond the scope of what Particular 4 was last engineered for.

Legacy Article Disclaimer: This article does not contain information relevant to current Maxon software, and is only to be used as a reference for Maxon legacy users. Avoid using this article when troubleshooting or researching solutions for Maxon software released in 2022 or later.