The file extension MPQ is associated with a variety of different games produced by Blizzard Entertainment. MPQ file extensions are commonly referred to as Mo‘PaQ’, which represents the name of the developer of the MPQ file format.
MPQ files are developed by Mike O’Brien and are a game file type which is typically in a compressed or encrypted format. The file can also be assembled in a split archive format using a file splitting archive utility. The files can be quite large depending upon the specific game they are associated with, which is the reason they can be organized into several different compressed file formats.
MPQ files contain data which is necessary for running Blizzard Entertainment games. The data includes graphics, images, playing levels, audio, objects and other elements. The files can be accessed, viewed, and edited using a variety of gaming utility programs.
How to Open MPQ Files
Since MPQ files are delivered in a variety of different file formats, double click on the file to see if it will automatically open in a default program you have installed on your PC. MPQ files can be opened using different utility programs, so you may already have a program which will open the file.
If you use Windows, you can open MPQ files with MPQ Editor, which is available for download on the DevKlog website. You can also use World of Warcraft Addon Studio, which is an open source program used for game development. Addon Studio is available as a free download on the Addon Studio website. SCMDraft is another program that will open MPQ files in Windows.
For Mac OS X, you can open MPQ files using MPQKit, which is available for download on the DevKlog website. MPQ Extractor, which is also available on the DevLKlog website, will open MPQ files on a Mac PC as well.
If you are looking for a multiplatform application, you can use StormLib Library, which is available on the PUDN website and is compatible with Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. You can also use mpq-tools for Linux, which is available as a free download on the FreeCode website.
MPQ files can also be converted to another format for use with other utility programs. For a Windows-based PC, you can convert MPQ files using FormatFactory, which is available under a shareware license and can be downloaded from the Softonic or CNET website.
For Mac OS X, you can convert MPQ files to another format using File Converter, which is compatible with all Mac devices and available for download from iTunes.
