Extract text from Crusader Kings II save files (CK2)
To convert CK2 save files to another format, you need Crusader Kings II or other Game software.
To convert other file formats to the "Saved Game File" file type, you need software like Crusader Kings II or a similar tool.
A .ck2 file stores the saved campaign state for the grand strategy game Crusader Kings II developed by Paradox Interactive. These files track hundreds of years of complex data, including character traits, dynasties, province upgrades, and global event flags.
The main disadvantage of the .ck2 format is that it is a proprietary, game-specific file. The data is completely useless without the original game or dedicated community save-editing tools. Furthermore, game save files frequently exceed 50MB late in a campaign, which causes slow loading times and large storage requirements. To save disk space, the game often wraps the data in standard ZIP compression. If the file is compressed, standard text editors will only display scrambled code. Users typically want to convert or extract these files to TXT to manually edit character stats, or to EU4 format using the official converter DLC to continue their dynasty in another game.
This file format is difficult to open or convert because it uses a highly specific syntax recognized only by the Clausewitz game engine. Often, only the original software can properly read or export the data without breaking the internal logic. Standard online converters fail to process it because they lack the specific parsing rules for Paradox games. However, convert.guru provides a pragmatic workaround. Just drag and drop your file to identify the format, view it, and convert it when possible. convert.guru can still identify the file format, inspect the file, and show text or internal content. If our analysis detects a supported underlying or embedded format (such as the standard ZIP container used in 71% of these files), viewing or conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your CK2 file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted HDSAV, PCK, RBXL, CK3 and EU4 files.
If you want to convert CK2 file to EU4, CK3, CSV, JSON, XML, YAML, YML, TOML, INI, CFG, CONF or DAT, you can use Crusader Kings II or similar software from the "Game Save Data Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert DBF, XML, SQLITE, XLSX, SQL, TSV, ACCDB, YAML, MDB, CSV, ODS or JSON files to CK2, try Crusader Kings II or another comparable tool in the "Game Save Data 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 CK2 converter.