BWD File

What are BWD files and how to open them

Are you having problems opening a BWD file or are you simply curious about its contents? We're here to explain the properties of these files and provide you with software that can open or handle your BWD files.

What is a BWD file?

A .BWD file is a MechWarrior 2 Mission Data file.

MechWarrior 2 mission data files store the compiled game mission information used by MechWarrior 2 (including Mercenaries and related variants). They provide the full set of scenario definitions - terrain layout, mission objectives, navpoints, objects, AI behavior, mission briefing and success/failure conditions - ready for the game engine to execute. These files are produced during mission compilation, are binary, and are what the game reads when launching a mission.

These files are generated by compiling or converting a set of plain-text ".WLD" mission definition files together with mission metadata and assets, using tools provided with the game (for example wasm.exe and custom compilers used by the community). The compiling process encrypts or encodes the WLD content into this binary format. Modders have developed decompilers or conversion utilities that reverse the binary form back to the editable WLD text format.

The mission data format begins with a signature "BWD" followed by specific markers like "REV" and "DTBL" near the start of the file. These files also contain tagged sections (chunks) labelled by four‐character codes (for example DTBL, OBJ, GPS, MTBL, NAVP, etc.), each with defined fields and sizes describing different parts of the mission such as gameobjects, objectives, navigation points, campaign links, visual or environmental settings.

How to open BWD files

Important: Different programs may use files with the BWD file extension for different purposes, so unless you are sure which format your BWD file is, you may need to try a few different programs.

While we have not verified the app ourselves yet, our users have suggested a single BWD opener which you will find listed below.

Last updated: August 25, 2026

Various apps that use files with this extension

These apps are known to open certain types of BWD files. Remember, different programs may use BWD files for different purposes, so you may need to try out a few of them to be able to open your specific file.

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