Opening game files in Blender is a simple five-step process once you know how to access the game files. Blender supports importing all the most common 3D file formats and textures. The ever-increasing capabilities of open-source software like Blender has made developing and modding games accessible to anyone. Both experienced modders who want to take on modding their favorite games and interested players who want to see what their favorite games look like under the hood have the tools at their fingertips. Read on for a step-by-step guide on how to view files from your favorite games in Blender.
1. Check the game’s model file format
Check the game’s model file format, since most files other than OBJ or FBX aren’t supported. 3D models are often compressed in an archive to keep the game size small, so modding communities for individual games have created their own tools for decompressing and accessing those game files. Check the modding community for your game and see if there’s a tool available for converting to one of these two formats.
FBX is more common than OBJ since the former is newer and supports animations. FBX is a proprietary format, though, which means it works best with Autodesk software, not Blender. Advanced features like modifiers and materials don’t always look the same or import correctly. OBJ occurs in older games, but you must be careful about also extracting the MTL file which carries the material data, as OBJs aren’t able to store materials in one file.
glTF 2.0 (GL Transmission Format) is an open source alternative to FBX that Blender supports. The format isn’t common in console or PC games, but it’s worth knowing because it’s one of the few formats that’s designed for distribution, not editing. FBX is designed to be opened in editors, and is often converted by game engines when the game starts, which is inefficient and slows the game down. glTF are designed for GPUs to read them into memory with no conversion and the file itself is smaller than alternatives like FBX or OBJ. If you’re getting files from web or mobile games, glTF is an important format to keep in mind.
Blender supports the following file formats natively.
- Alembic
- 3D Studio (3DS)
- COLLADA (DAE)
- Filmbox (FBX)
- Autodesk (DXF)
- Wavefront (OBJ)
- DirectX (x)
- Lightwave (LWO)
- Motion Capture (BVH)
- SVG
- Stanford PLY
- STL
- VRML
- VRML97
- X3D
2. Open Blender and go to File > Import
Open Blender and go to File > Import. The list in the ribbon menu includes all the file formats Blender supports. If one of the options isn’t showing up, check your Add-ons in Preferences and make sure all default add-ons for importing are enabled.
A second option is to drag and drop into the program. Dragging default files like OBJs and FBXs from your file browser into Blender opens up the import settings automatically. When you need to go back and forth between the file browser, Blender has a built-in browser that you’re able to open in the interface. The average user only sees the File Browser when opening or importing a file, but you’re able to open an instance of it any time by adding a new area and changing the environment to “File Browser” at the top left.
3. Select the appropriate import format from the list
Select the appropriate import format from the list as the other formats aren’t often important for game development. Alembic is a platform-independent file for storing animations, and it’s used for storing animated characters or fluid simulations. The file is usable with Unity and Unreal, but is unlikely to show up in a shipped game because the file size is so large. USD was created by Pixar for movie scenes, PLY is used for 3D scans, and .STL files are designed for 3D printing. Blender supports other formats through third-party add-ons.
Blender’s extensions site offers support for the game asset formats VRM, and PSK. The user saturday06 has made an add-on available for importing VRM files, a format for virtual avatars. The add-on puts Blender’s animation tools, rigs, and Blend shapes at the user’s disposal for detailed control of the final avatar’s look. PSK/PSA files used by Unreal engine for skeletons and animations are also importable through a tool made by cmbasnett.
4. Navigate to and select your converted model file
Navigate to and select your converted (if required) model file. Importing opens a menu of options for how Blender handles the process of shifting from FBX to a .blend file. Blender lets you change the scale, import animations, and decide how to handle other features Blender doesn’t support natively. Changing defaults isn’t often necessary, but some games use different scaling and the model comes into Blender a few centimeters wide by default, making it difficult to deal with.
5. Click the Import button to open the game file in Blender
Click the Import button to open the game file in Blender. The file is now ready for the user to view or modify. Blender’s rigging, animation, shading, texturing, and modeling tools are at your disposal. Games don’t support all of Blender’s features, and some games use features Blender doesn’t support, so check the documentation and resources from the modding community for your game before exporting the model to a new file.
Blender handles importing related assets like materials and textures on its own. An OBJ file has separate material files, so make sure they’re in the same folder when importing into Blender. While materials are built into FBX files, textures are often not. Blender does support importing FBX files with embedded textures, but, if the model imports without any textures, you need to search through the game files to find them. The same advice goes for exporting; new textures must be exported separately when building a mod for the game.
