What is a WORLD file?
.WORLD files store map, environment, and 3D scene data for various video games and simulation software. They usually contain terrain data, object placements, player spawns, and lighting settings. The exact internal format depends entirely on the game or tool that created the file.
Common Software Uses
Because many developers use this extension, a .WORLD file can be several different things. It might be a scene file for VRChat, which is often formatted in plain JSON. It could be a custom map for The Sims 3. It is also used as a compressed GZIP save file for the game Terraria. In robotics, Gazebo Simulator uses .WORLD files written in XML to build virtual testing environments. It is also a known format for the WorldPainter tool, which allows users to paint 3D landscapes.
How to open WORLD files?
Because .WORLD has multiple possible meanings, it is highly recommended to use viewer.online/world to identify the actual format of your file. viewer.online/world analyzes .WORLD files to identify their exact format and creator software, shows which programs can open the file, and usually previews it.
If you want to play a downloaded .WORLD game map, you must manually move the file into the specific save folder for the corresponding game.
File Conversion
We recommend file conversion to sensible target formats on convert.guru. If the .WORLD file is simply data structured in JSON or XML, you can convert it to standard .TXT to easily read the code. For custom game maps, you often need specialized community software to export the 3D terrain into universal modeling formats like .OBJ or .STL.
Summary
Because .WORLD files often use the known JSON format, viewer.online/world can safely open and display them online, eliminating compatibility problems.