Extract text from game animation files (ANIMATION)
To convert ANIMATION animations to another format, you need Unity or other Game software.
To convert other file formats to the "Animation Data Asset" file type, you need software like Unity or a similar tool.
The .animation file is a multi-purpose extension primarily used by game engines and hardware SDKs to define character movement, sprite timing, UI transitions, or device lighting effects. Depending on its origin, it might be generated by 2D/3D engines like Unity or GameMaker Studio, or used by specific games like The Sims 4 (Electronic Arts), Starbound (Chucklefish), and PAYDAY 2.
Because .animation is not a standardized format, its internal structure is highly fragmented. This is its biggest disadvantage: a file from Dungeon Siege uses a ZIP container, PAYDAY 2 uses zlib compression, and Starbound uses plain JSON. You cannot simply share a .animation file with another developer and expect it to open natively in Blender or Autodesk Maya. They are proprietary assets strictly bound to a specific engine. Without the original engine or specialized modding tools, extracting the raw skeletal or timing data is incredibly frustrating.
To view, edit, or archive this data, you must first identify its internal format. If the file is text-based (like Starbound), convert it to JSON or TXT for safe code editing. If it is a compressed 3D game asset, you will need engine-specific modding tools to convert the underlying skeletal data into a standardized format like FBX, GLTF, or BVH for cross-platform animation work. Note that proprietary physics and state-machine logic are almost always lost during conversion.
Convert.Guru analyzes your ANIMATION file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted GIF, ZTMP, MRS, FEN, VIDEO, PNG and SVG files.
If you want to convert ANIMATION file to VIDEO, GIF, PNG or SVG, you can use Unity or similar software from the "Game & Hardware Animation Data" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert files to ANIMATION, try Unity or another comparable tool in the "Game & Hardware Animation Data" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our ANIMATION converter.