Open BIG files in your browser
The archive EA's games keep their data in, from Command & Conquer: Generals to The Battle for Middle-earth. Open one right here as a folder of its files. Nothing leaves your device.
Or drop it anywhere on this page
What you'll see
Your file opens like a folder, its files listed on the left, with a page beside them on what it is and what it holds.
- Listed like a folder • Unpacks only what you pick
- A page on what it is • From its own manifest or index
- Pictures, sounds and text • Each opens in its viewer
- Export • Save as ZIP or Extract all
About BIG
Electronic Arts' BIG archives hold the art, sounds, maps and settings of many of its games, from Command & Conquer: Generals and Zero Hour to The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth and Command & Conquer 3. Modders unpack them, change a unit's INI and pack them again with tools like FinalBIG.
A BIG starts with BIGF or BIG4 and its whole size, then the count of its files and the end of its list in big-endian, and for each file its place, size and path, like Data\INI\Weapon.ini. Some files are packed with RefPack, EA's own compression.
Filepeek lists the files in their folders, each unpacked from RefPack when it's packed and you pick it, and counts them by kind on the page. Textures, sounds, Bink videos and INI settings open in their own viewers, and Save as ZIP or Extract all take them out.
EA BIG archive
.big
Format
- MIME type
- application/octet-stream
- Made by
- Electronic Arts
Inside the file
- Starts with
- BIGF or BIG4
- List
- A place, size and path for each file
- Packed
- Some files with RefPack
- Often holds
- INI settings, textures, maps and models
Opens in every browser
Filepeek opens a BIG as a folder in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari. On their own, browsers only download it.
- YouChromeOpens through Filepeek
- YouEdgeOpens through Filepeek
- YouFirefoxOpens through Filepeek
- YouSafariOpens through Filepeek
Apps that open BIG
- WindowsFinalBIG
- MacNo app opens it
- iPhone and iPadNo app opens it
- AndroidNo app opens it
Questions
How do I open a BIG file?
Drop it on this page or choose Peek a BIG. Its files are listed in their folders, and each one opens or saves on its own.
Can I change the INI files inside?
Each INI opens as text and saves on its own, so you can change it in any editor and pack it again with a tool like FinalBIG.
Does it open every .big file?
It opens EA's, which start with BIGF or BIG4. Other games, like Relic's Homeworld, name archives of their own .big, and those show their About card.