We’re excited to announce that the option to use Cloud Licensing as an alternative to the License Server will be officially available in the upcoming updates for Enscape. Many of you have asked for a simpler way to use licenses across devices, and we are happy to deliver this option.
A smoother licensing experience
With Cloud Licensing, you will be able to:
Use it instantly by signing in with your Chaos account.
Skip VPNs and on-premise servers—everything works securely online.
Get up and running faster with fewer setup steps and no configuration overhead.
Use your licenses anywhere, on any machine, with a simple login.
Cloud Licensing is built directly into the products, so you’ll see the option immediately after updating.
If you would like to read more about Cloud Licensing, including an overview and preparation, check out this article: Migrating to Cloud Licensing
Additionally, you can visit the FAQ page and view our dedicated demo video.
Please note that the existing Chaos License Server remains fully supported, and you can switch between the two models at any time. This gives you the freedom to adopt Cloud Licensing at your own pace, depending on your team structure and workflows.
If you have any questions, please feel free to post them below or reach out to our dedicated support team as detailed here.
I installed Enscape 4.16 to check out the new ‘old’ style licensing, having in mind the troubles when Enscape switched to the other licensing model. The post above more or less suggests the new license method is used by Enscape only. But reading Migrating to Cloud Licensing it’s not only Enscape, but eventually all Chaos products will be able to use Cloud Licensing. It might be handy to have a list of products that do / don’t support Cloud Licensing, since:
After this, the newly installed product will use Cloud Licensing directly. The local License Server will remain installed on the device, and older product versions can continue using it.
I would like to get rid of the ‘old’ licensing stuff - it’s a waste of system resources.
This is not working yet for Enscape? I get a “No Active Enscape License” error when switching to the cloud server. The only reference to that I’ve found was in the FAQ “What is Cloud Licensing?”. It says at the end: “Note: Currently, 02.2026 - the Cloud licensing model (working without a License Server) is fully operational only for Vantage and Corona.”
Yes — this is a different system from the shared Floating Licences you’ve been using, as far as I understand it.
What you’ve been using since 2024 is a Floating Licence managed via a licence server service. That server could either be installed on one machine within your internal network (a remote server), or installed locally as part of the default Enscape installation after August 2024 (local licence server). Either way, it’s still a server-based floating system that hands out seats on demand.
Even if it doesn’t seem like you’re using a local licence server, the default installation includes one, and it runs quietly in the background - until something doesn’t work! So unless a central remote server was deliberately set up, you’re probably already using the local licence server system.
The “new option” doesn’t require any licence server installation or background service. Users just sign directly into Enscape with their account, and licence entitlement is tied to the login rather than a server.
Because there are mixed use cases — for example, other Chaos products like V-Ray still rely on the licence server, and some users may need offline access — you can just keep using your existing setup if it works. When installing Enscape in the future, you could either continue with the current licence server system or switch to the new sign-in system, you can even use a mixture of setups between users.
If everything is working smoothly, especially if you use multiple Chaos products, render nodes, V-Ray, etc., there’s no need to change. But if you’re a new user or your IT setup struggles with the licence server, the new sign-in system should simplify things.
Hmmm, I tried several times the first day it was released and it didn’t work. Tried again today after I saw this post and it is working now. I haven’t changed anything on my end
Hi @notjustanarchitect , just to make sure you’re fully aware: In a case like this, it’s usually always best to reach out to our dedicated support team directly, as detailed here, so that we can troubleshoot the actual cause behind this behavior as soon as possible. It’d be much appreciated, and thank you in advance for your cooperation.
We’re installing Enscape silently and remotely with a config.xml file.
If I run the 4.16 installation with the existing file (which contains the info for the LAN license server) then it automatically defaults to Cloud licensing mode.
As a consequence the user does not get a license.
Is a modification of the config.xml available/needed to fix this?
I would guess the rest of your existing config would remain the same - that is just the switch to move it from the now default cloud licensing to the regular license server.
Unfortunately this is not working. I’ve tried with an existing install as well as a new installation.
I’m probably doing something wrong. here’s my config file:
Prior to this change, I was able to view which licenses were in use in manage license, (i.e. we assigned our floating licenses to the same email account and had each user log into that account in order to be eligible to collect a license).
Now on my test install, the license mode is cloud license and cannot view licenses in use. Do I need to continue using the old license model? Is this new license model an indication that they are going to do away with floating licenses in favor of named user? i.e. we would need to spend 4x the licensing cost?
