Extract text from Game data packages (OVL)
To convert OVL Overlays to another format, you need Cobra Engine or other Game software.
To convert other file formats to the "Game Data Archive" file type, you need software like Cobra Engine or a similar tool.
The .ovl file is primarily a proprietary game data package used by games built on the Cobra Engine by Frontier Developments (e.g., Elite Dangerous, Planet Coaster, Jurassic World Evolution). It functions as a compressed container that holds crucial game assets, including 3D models, textures, and audio. Alternatively, .ovl extensions are used as memory overlays in classic titles like RollerCoaster Tycoon 3, as system overlays in Nintendo Switch homebrew environments, and historically as executable program overlays in legacy Microsoft DOS/Windows applications to bypass the 640KB RAM limit.
The main disadvantage of the modern .ovl format is its highly proprietary nature. These files are heavily compressed using the Frontier Resource Extraction System (FRES) and are explicitly locked to their specific games. Modders and data miners face significant hurdles because standard archive utilities cannot read them. You cannot natively browse the contents, meaning the assets are effectively trapped inside without specialized community-developed modding tools. Repackaging them incorrectly after editing almost always breaks the game.
To make the contents usable for editing or web sharing, you must extract the .ovl file. For 3D modeling, target formats like OBJ or FBX. For texture editing and web display, convert the internal assets to PNG or DDS. Drag and drop your file here to analyze and convert it - free, online, and without installing software.
Convert.Guru analyzes your OVL file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted OVS, OVX, TEXTURES_L0, AUX, ZIP, Z2F, BMP, BNK, IRX, TXT, EXE, PDF and IMG files.
If you want to convert OVL file to SVG, AI, EPS, PDF, JPG, CDR, WMF, EMF, SWF, FLA, XFL or SKETCH, you can use Cobra Engine or similar software from the "Game Asset Archive" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert AFPUB, EPS, FIG, VSD, SKETCH, VDX, AFPHOTO, PDF, AFDESIGN, SVG, VSDX or AI files to OVL, try Cobra Engine or another comparable tool in the "Game Asset Archive" 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 OVL converter.