Extract text from Naughty Dog game objects (CGO)
To convert CGO Game objects to another format, you need OpenGOAL or other Game software.
To convert other file formats to the "Compiled Game Object" file type, you need software like OpenGOAL or a similar tool.
The .CGO file extension is a compiled game object data file originally created by the Naughty Dog GOAL compiler. It contains binary game assets, level data, and compiled Lisp bytecode heavily used in classic PlayStation 2 video games like Jak and Daxter.
You cannot open a .CGO file with standard text editors or generic 3D modeling software. To interact with these files, you need specialized reverse-engineering toolchains, such as the OpenGOAL Project, which was built specifically to decompile and extract these proprietary assets.
The primary disadvantage of a .CGO file is its extremely restrictive nature. It is heavily encrypted, proprietary, and permanently tied to obsolete console hardware architectures. The format is entirely unreadable by web browsers or standard desktop operating systems, making it incredibly frustrating for modders or archivists who want to view the embedded 3D models or code.
Because it is a closed, binary format, true conversion to standard targets like ZIP, TXT, or OBJ is impossible without writing custom unpacking scripts. Standard online converters will always fail to process it because they lack the specific runtime engine required to interpret the byte code.
This file format is notoriously difficult to open or convert. Only the original game engine or a dedicated decompiler can properly read or export the data. However, you can drag and drop your .CGO file onto convert.guru to identify its exact format signature, inspect the raw hex data, and potentially extract any readable plain-text strings embedded within the file.
Convert.Guru analyzes your CGO file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
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If you want to convert CGO file to OBJ, FBX, DAE, 3DS, MAX, BLEND, MA, MB, C4D, STL, PLY or WRL, you can use OpenGOAL or similar software from the "Compiled Game Asset Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert DWG, DAE, X3D, IGES, WRL, JT, SKP, 3DS, 3DM, OBJ, STEP or FBX files to CGO, try OpenGOAL or another comparable tool in the "Compiled Game Asset Storage" 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 CGO converter.