# Animation Preview No Longer Works (2.03.08 - 5.5)

**URL:** <https://qa.fmod.com/t/animation-preview-no-longer-works-2-03-08-5-5/23039>\
**Category:** Unreal Engine\
**Created:** [June 13, 2025, 12:05pm UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/animation-preview-no-longer-works-2-03-08-5-5/23039 "2025-06-13T12:05:27Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![EloyDeck13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e36b37/32.png) [@EloyDeck13](https://qa.fmod.com/u/EloyDeck13)\
**Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 12:05pm UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/animation-preview-no-longer-works-2-03-08-5-5/23039/1 "2025-06-13T12:05:27Z")

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**Issue:**  
in 2.03.08 Unreal Engine 5.5, animation montages/sequences no longer play sound.

**Proposed Solution:**  
After checking change history, in the 2.03.08 integration, - **UFMODAudioComponent::Play()::729** was changed, in my eyes incorrectly:

`PlayInternal(EFMODSystemContext::Runtime);`  
Should be reverted to:  
`PlayInternal(EFMODSystemContext::Max);`

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Leah\_FMOD](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/qa.fmod.com/leah_fmod/32/3685_2.png) [@Leah\_FMOD](https://qa.fmod.com/u/Leah_FMOD)\
**Post date:** [June 19, 2025, 6:28am UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/animation-preview-no-longer-works-2-03-08-5-5/23039/2 "2025-06-19T06:28:08Z")

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Hi,

Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to reproduce the issue you’re describing. A few questions:

- In what contexts do the issue happen? i.e. in the animation sequence editor, in the UE editor when in play mode, in builds, etc.
- Could I get you to provide a short series of steps that reproduces the issue for you?
- Could I also get you to go to Edit → Project Settings → FMOD Studio → Advanced, set the [Logging Level](https://www.fmod.com/docs/2.03/unreal/settings.html#logging-level) to LEVEL LOG and enable [API Error Logging](https://www.fmod.com/docs/2.03/unreal/settings.html#enable-api-error-logging), and post a log from UE where the issue occurs?

Thanks!

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Leah\_FMOD](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/qa.fmod.com/leah_fmod/32/3685_2.png) [@Leah\_FMOD](https://qa.fmod.com/u/Leah_FMOD)\
**Post date:** [June 27, 2025, 3:15am UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/animation-preview-no-longer-works-2-03-08-5-5/23039/3 "2025-06-27T03:15:00Z")

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Just following up on this - to help me reproduce the issue, could I get you to answer the questions in my previous reply?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![EloyDeck13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e36b37/32.png) [@EloyDeck13](https://qa.fmod.com/u/EloyDeck13)\
**Post date:** [June 30, 2025, 11:07am UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/animation-preview-no-longer-works-2-03-08-5-5/23039/4 "2025-06-30T11:07:41Z")

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Hello @Leah_FMOD !  
My apologies for the delayed answer.  
This specifically happens in the editor preview, whilst being out of play mode.  
So, no connection to builds / playmode / etc.

Reproduction of the issue:

- In the unreal engine editor, open an animation asset (Sequence or Montage).
- Add a new FMOD Play Event
- Add the FMOD event to the play event
- Observe on playing the animation in the editor, the sound is not played.

For logging, there is nothing relevant printed:  
UFMODAudioComponent::PlayInternal::740 is called with “runtime” but since we are not in runtime, the GetStudioModule().GetEventDescription(Event, Context) returns nullptr, thus never executing further, exiting out of playinternal early, not logging anything.

Hope that helps clarify the issue.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Leah\_FMOD](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/qa.fmod.com/leah_fmod/32/3685_2.png) [@Leah\_FMOD](https://qa.fmod.com/u/Leah_FMOD)\
**Post date:** [July 4, 2025, 6:19am UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/animation-preview-no-longer-works-2-03-08-5-5/23039/5 "2025-07-04T06:19:29Z")

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Thanks for the additional info! I’ve been able to reproduce the issue specifically when `bFollow` is enabled, as `AnimNotify_FMODPlayEvent` will use the Play Event Attached node, which executes via the codepath you pointed out. Does this line up with that you’re observing i.e. that disabling `bFollow` causes the events to play as expected?

Regardless, I’ve passed the issue along to the development team to be addressed.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![EloyDeck13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e36b37/32.png) [@EloyDeck13](https://qa.fmod.com/u/EloyDeck13)\
**Post date:** [July 8, 2025, 11:08am UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/animation-preview-no-longer-works-2-03-08-5-5/23039/6 "2025-07-08T11:08:26Z")

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That lines up! Thank you very much for forwarding this to the development team.

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**Author:** ![yihoe1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/76d3ee/32.png) [@yihoe1](https://qa.fmod.com/u/yihoe1)\
**Post date:** [July 21, 2025, 6:13am UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/animation-preview-no-longer-works-2-03-08-5-5/23039/7 "2025-07-21T06:13:24Z")

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Hello,  
I have very same problem with the Play Event Attached node.  
Notified sound is not played on the Animation preview.  
I think this bug is from 2.03.  
Is there any news on it? Or any way to hedge this problem?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Leah\_FMOD](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/qa.fmod.com/leah_fmod/32/3685_2.png) [@Leah\_FMOD](https://qa.fmod.com/u/Leah_FMOD)\
**Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 2:47am UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/animation-preview-no-longer-works-2-03-08-5-5/23039/8 "2025-07-22T02:47:28Z")

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Hi,

I can’t promise an exact timeline, but a fix is currently scheduled for our next release of 2.03. As for a workaround, if you modify the following code in the FMOD for Unreal integration, it should resolve the problem:

- ./Plugins/FMODStudio/Source/FMODStudio/Classes/FMODAudioComponent.h:

```CPP
class FMODSTUDIO_API UFMODAudioComponent : public USceneComponent
{
    GENERATED_UCLASS_BODY()
    friend struct FFMODEventControlExecutionToken;
    friend class UFMODBlueprintStatics; // <- new code, line 142
    friend struct FPlayingToken;
    friend FMOD_RESULT F_CALLBACK UFMODAudioComponent_EventCallback(FMOD_STUDIO_EVENT_CALLBACK_TYPE type, FMOD_STUDIO_EVENTINSTANCE *event, void *parameters);
}

```

- ./Plugins/FMODStudio/Source/FMODStudio/Private/FMODBlueprintStatics.cpp:

```CPP
    if (bAutoPlay) // <- around line 120,depending on your plugin version
    {
        // replace contents of if statement with the following:
        EFMODSystemContext::Type SystemContext = 
            (GWorld && GWorld->WorldType == EWorldType::Editor) ? EFMODSystemContext::Auditioning: EFMODSystemContext::Runtime;
        AudioComponent->PlayInternal(SystemContext);
    }
    return AudioComponent;

```

Let me know if you run into any issues with it.

**Edit:** the above workaround has been edited to function properly by replacing usage of `EFMODSystemContext::Editor` with `EFMODSystemContext::Auditioning`.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![yihoe1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/76d3ee/32.png) [@yihoe1](https://qa.fmod.com/u/yihoe1)\
**Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 2:23pm UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/animation-preview-no-longer-works-2-03-08-5-5/23039/9 "2025-07-23T14:23:43Z")

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Hi,  
Sorry but it doesn’t work.  
I modified 2 files as you advised, but fmod notifies with bFollow=true don’t spawn on Animation preview.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![EloyDeck13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e36b37/32.png) [@EloyDeck13](https://qa.fmod.com/u/EloyDeck13)\
**Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 3:35pm UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/animation-preview-no-longer-works-2-03-08-5-5/23039/10 "2025-07-23T15:35:09Z")

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@yihoe1 the “workaround” we are using and proved to work for us was changing line 729 in FMODAudioComponent.cpp.

So far it did not cause any other issues.

from: `PlayInternal(EFMODSystemContext::Runtime);`  
to: `PlayInternal(EFMODSystemContext::Max);`

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![yihoe1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/76d3ee/32.png) [@yihoe1](https://qa.fmod.com/u/yihoe1)\
**Post date:** [July 24, 2025, 10:41am UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/animation-preview-no-longer-works-2-03-08-5-5/23039/11 "2025-07-24T10:41:03Z")

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I thought it might be that code too, but it seems like it’s not related.  
Looks like this is a bug with Unreal 5.5.4 and FMOD 2.03.08.  
I didn’t see it in earlier versions, so I think it’s something new.  
There’s a chance it’s on Unreal’s side too — the built-in Unreal sound system has a somewhat similar issue, though not exactly the same.  
For now, I’m just waiting for a fix.  
Looking forward to a fix from Firelight Tech — thanks as always for your efforts!

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Leah\_FMOD](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/qa.fmod.com/leah_fmod/32/3685_2.png) [@Leah\_FMOD](https://qa.fmod.com/u/Leah_FMOD)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2025, 3:45am UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/animation-preview-no-longer-works-2-03-08-5-5/23039/12 "2025-07-25T03:45:21Z")

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Apologies! There’s some differences between the FMOD for Unreal integrations, and the workaround I posted only works for 4.27. I’ll update this thread with a workaround for later versions when I have one.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Leah\_FMOD](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/qa.fmod.com/leah_fmod/32/3685_2.png) [@Leah\_FMOD](https://qa.fmod.com/u/Leah_FMOD)\
**Post date:** [July 28, 2025, 1:32am UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/animation-preview-no-longer-works-2-03-08-5-5/23039/13 "2025-07-28T01:32:17Z")

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Thanks for your patience!

You can work around the issue on UE 5.0+ by modifying the workaround I previously posted - specifically by replacing usage of `EFMODSystemContext::Editor` in the `if (bAutoPlay)` statement in FMODBlueprintStatics.cpp with `EFMODSystemContext::Auditioning` instead:

```auto
     if (bAutoPlay) /
    {
        // replace contents of if statement with the following:
        EFMODSystemContext::Type SystemContext = 
            (GWorld && GWorld->WorldType == EWorldType::Editor) ? EFMODSystemContext::Auditioning : EFMODSystemContext::Runtime;
        AudioComponent->PlayInternal(SystemContext);
    }
    return AudioComponent;

```

I’ll edit the workaround in my previous post to include this change. Again, let me know if you run into any issues with this.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![yihoe1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/76d3ee/32.png) [@yihoe1](https://qa.fmod.com/u/yihoe1)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2025, 9:55am UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/animation-preview-no-longer-works-2-03-08-5-5/23039/14 "2025-08-01T09:55:54Z")

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Thanks a lot, Leah.

Your modification fixed the issue.  
”EFMODSystemContext::Auditioning” was a crucial detail key.

Really appreciate it!

😃

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![dquartz](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/qa.fmod.com/dquartz/32/4978_2.png) [@dquartz](https://qa.fmod.com/u/dquartz)\
**Post date:** [August 4, 2025, 8:06pm UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/animation-preview-no-longer-works-2-03-08-5-5/23039/15 "2025-08-04T20:06:23Z")

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> [@EloyDeck13](#):
>
> from: `PlayInternal(EFMODSystemContext::Runtime);`  
> to: `PlayInternal(EFMODSystemContext::Max);`

This is the change I made to our integration to fix this. The one offered in the thread here doesn’t help when calling PlayEventAttached with bAutoPlay set to false as we do in one of our custom animation notifies.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Leah\_FMOD](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/qa.fmod.com/leah_fmod/32/3685_2.png) [@Leah\_FMOD](https://qa.fmod.com/u/Leah_FMOD)\
**Post date:** [August 5, 2025, 2:29am UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/animation-preview-no-longer-works-2-03-08-5-5/23039/16 "2025-08-05T02:29:48Z")

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> [@dquartz](#):
>
> The one offered in the thread here doesn’t help when calling PlayEventAttached with bAutoPlay set to false as we do in one of our custom animation notifies.

Can I get you to show me exactly how the custom notify in question is set up? Some screenshots would be great.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Hius](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/qa.fmod.com/hius/32/9624_2.png) [@Hius](https://qa.fmod.com/u/Hius)\
**Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 10:59pm UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/animation-preview-no-longer-works-2-03-08-5-5/23039/17 "2026-02-18T22:59:43Z")

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Hello. I’ve run into the same issue. I’m using Unreal Engine 5.7.3 and FMOD 3.0.12. After implementing the modifications mentioned in this thread into the plugin files, sound in the animation editor only plays when the Follow checkbox is disabled. Once the checkbox is enabled, the sound stops, even in the version with the fixed files.

 ![Notify](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/uploads/fmod/original/2X/d/d0118493f4e3c94f73608ae30ac23206c137b1ba.jpeg)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![woong\_abutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ee7513/32.png) [@woong\_abutton](https://qa.fmod.com/u/woong_abutton)\
**Post date:** [February 23, 2026, 12:57am UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/animation-preview-no-longer-works-2-03-08-5-5/23039/18 "2026-02-23T00:57:33Z")

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Our development team discovered that sounds were only being played when the Sound Space was set to 2D. Because of this, we modified the code so that, in the animation preview, the sound is forced to output in 2D even if it is set to Attached or At Location.  
Turns out it was a bug…

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Hius](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/qa.fmod.com/hius/32/9624_2.png) [@Hius](https://qa.fmod.com/u/Hius)\
**Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 10:22pm UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/animation-preview-no-longer-works-2-03-08-5-5/23039/19 "2026-02-26T22:22:20Z")

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Forced 2D playback would be a decent solution… if it actually functioned )

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![lmgarciac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8edcca/32.png) [@lmgarciac](https://qa.fmod.com/u/lmgarciac)\
**Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 4:22pm UTC](https://qa.fmod.com/t/animation-preview-no-longer-works-2-03-08-5-5/23039/20 "2026-02-27T16:22:41Z")

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Hi, I’m on FMOD Plugin 2.03.12  
UE Editor 5.6

None of the fixes on this thread have worked so far. PIE play works just fine, but Sequencer Play reproduces nothing for an Event.

Any news about this?

[Next page](https://qa.fmod.com/t/animation-preview-no-longer-works-2-03-08-5-5/23039.md?page=2)