Extract text from W3G files
To convert your W3G file to another format, you need Warcraft III or other Game software.
To convert other file formats to the "Replay Log" file type, you need software like Warcraft III or a similar tool.
The .W3G file format is a proprietary game replay log generated by Warcraft III, the iconic real-time strategy game by Blizzard Entertainment.
Users frequently mistake .W3G files for video recordings. However, these files contain zero video or audio data. Instead, they store a lightweight binary log of simulation inputs - every mouse click, hotkey press, and timestamp that occurred during the match. When you "watch" a replay, the game engine re-simulates the battle in real-time using these instructions.
This architecture is often a source of frustration for users:
To "convert" a .W3G file, you must determine your end goal:
1. For Visuals (MP4/AVI): You must launch the replay within the game client and use screen capture software like OBS Studio to record the playback physically. This is the only way to generate a video file.
2. For Data (JSON/TXT): If you need game statistics (APM, hero levels, chat logs, build orders), you can use specialized parsing tools like w3gjs or w3g-cli. These tools convert the binary simulation data into structured JSON or readable TXT formats for analysis.
Convert.Guru analyzes your W3G file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted JPEG, RFA, EXE, PDF, RPL, RRF, W3Z and MP4 files.
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 W3G converter.