Opening QVM Files

The QVM file type is primarily associated with Quake Engine.

QVM	File extension: QVM
	File type:	executable game code container

What is a QVM file

QVM files mostly belong to Quake Engine. QVM files are files containing code for a Quake Virtual Machine that game engines use to run in-game logic.
These files come in two main variants:

Project IGI: In these cases, the file holds game data and virtual machine instructions used by Project IGI titles, including IGI 2: Covert Strike.

Quake 3 Arena: Here, the file is a compiled version of Quake Virtual Machine code used by the Quake Engine. For more details, see Id Software.

FilExt.com note: They are made to be run by the game engine and are usually not meant for direct human editing. To open or examine a QVM file, you need modding tools or special disassemblers because a plain text editor might only show unreadable code.

How to open QVM files

You need a suitable software like Quake Engine to open a QVM file. Without proper software you will receive a Windows message "How do you want to open this file?" or "Windows cannot open this file" or a similar Mac/iPhone/Android alert. If you cannot open your QVM file correctly, try to right-click or long-press the file. Then click "Open with" and choose an application. You can also display a QVM file directly in the browser:. Just drag the file onto this browser window and drop it.

Online QVM Text Viewer

Choose your .qvm file to analyze

or drag and drop it here

Online File Viewer

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QVM file format details:

Every file has a defined file format, i.e. how the data is arranged in the file. The file format can be determined based on the file extension and the signature (the first few characters of a file). Frequently, however, one file extension is used by different programs for different file formats, and one file format for different file extensions. If there are problems opening a file, you must first determine the file format used. Our examination of the QVM files comes to the following conclusion:

The QVM file extension is very common and predominantly uses a uniform format. The file formats most commonly found in QVM files are:

• 85% of all QVM files start with the bytes LOOP crucial for this file format. They consist of unreadable binary data. The files are often between 270 bytes and 17 KB in size. This file type was primarily in use more than 20 years ago. Several words can almost always be found in the files, e.g. LOOP. The file name weapon.qvm or humanplayer.qvm is characteristic of these files. Files like these have the following tags: config, ammo, settings, objects, material, animtrigger, mission and weaponconfig.
• 4% of all QVM files start with the magic bytes 44 14 72 12, which are always the first bytes of this file format. They consist of illegible, cryptic characters. QVM files can be up to 990 KB in size, but are often around 46 KB - 850 KB. An example of a file name is cgame.qvm or ui.qvm. Files like these are sometimes connected to qampgame and game.

All other QVM files (11%) have different formats. Sometimes used for physicsobj, sounds, civilian, guard, editormagicobjconfig or squaddefault. If you want to find out what your QVM file contains, drag and drop it onto this page.