What is a REPLAY file?
A .REPLAY file contains gameplay recording data. It is most commonly known as a Fortnite Replay File created by Epic Games. However, the .REPLAY extension is also used by other games, including Rocket League by Psyonix, Brawlhalla, Descenders, and Geometry Dash mods. These files do not contain actual video data. Instead, they store game engine coordinates, player actions, and timestamps to recreate the match in 3D.
How to open REPLAY files?
To view the match, you must open the .REPLAY file inside the specific game that created it. For example, a Fortnite file only works inside the game client. Because multiple games use the exact same extension for different internal formats, standard video players like VLC will not work.
Best practices and troubleshooting
Game updates frequently break older .REPLAY files. A replay saved in an older version of Fortnite or Rocket League will usually not open in the current version. Advanced users sometimes use Python scripts or community parsers to extract match statistics from the raw file data.
Inspecting with viewer.online
Because .REPLAY has multiple possible meanings, we recommend using viewer.online/replay to identify the actual format of your file. viewer.online/replay can analyze .REPLAY files to identify the exact format and creator software, inspect the file structure, extract readable text, and check whether an online preview is available.
Summary
viewer.online/replay is useful for identifying, inspecting, and understanding .REPLAY files without installing software or dealing with compatibility problems.