Extract text from XGS files
To convert your XGS file to another format, you need Microsoft XACT or other Game software.
To convert other file formats to the "Audio Settings File" file type, you need software like Microsoft XACT or a similar tool.
The .XGS file extension represents the XACT Global Settings file, a critical component in the legacy audio workflow for games developed using Microsoft XNA Game Studio. These files act as the central nervous system for a game's audio engine, defining categories, variables, and runtime parameter controls (RPCs) rather than containing the audio samples themselves.
Users typically encounter .XGS files when attempting to mod older PC titles or reverse-engineer game audio logic. The primary challenge is that .XGS files are often binary-compiled specifically for the Microsoft Cross-Platform Audio Creation Tool (XACT), meaning they cannot be opened with standard text editors or media players. Furthermore, because XNA is now deprecated, the native tools required to edit these files are difficult to access and run on modern operating systems like Windows 11. Users hoping to extract music or sound effects will be disappointed, as this file only contains instructions - the actual audio resides in accompanying XWB (Wave Bank) or XSB (Sound Bank) files.
For documentation or modding analysis, the most practical conversion target is XML or TXT, allowing developers to parse the variable structures. For archiving game assets, these files should be kept alongside their respective XAP project files.
Convert.Guru analyzes your XGS file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted XWB, XSB, XNB, HDP and SB2 files.
If you want to convert XGS file to EXE, ISO, BIN, CUE, PAK, WAD, PK3, PK4, BSP, MAP, SAV or DAT, you can use Microsoft XACT or similar software from the "Game Audio Configuration" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert MOD, BIN, CFG, SCX, DAT, MPQ, LOG, CUE, INI, EXE, SCM or ISO files to XGS, try Microsoft XACT or another comparable tool in the "Game Audio Configuration" 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 XGS converter.