CDDS File

What are CDDS files and how to open them

Are you having problems opening a CDDS 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 CDDS files.

What is a CDDS file?

A .CDDS file is a Midtown Madness 3 Data file.

Midtown Madness 3 Data files store texture image data used by the game Midtown Madness 3. These files bundle multiple mipmapped images (DDS-formatted) into one archive, for efficient loading of texture resources in game levels and environments. They are produced by the game developer (Digital Illusions CE for Midtown Madness 3) to organize its DDS textures for rendering.

Each file begins with a small header giving global archive metadata: how many image items it contains, and some reserved or constant values. Following the header is a section per image which includes information like the image's name, width, height, and the DDS compression format (such as DXT1, DXT5, etc.). Then the file provides mipmap-related records which locate different resolution levels of the texture. At the end comes the actual image data blocks: the DDS data for full-size and each mipmap level.

Files created in Midtown Madness 3 for Xbox and other platforms by the original game include this format. The archive is read during game execution to load texture data, not intended for user editing by default. Modding tools have since reverse engineered its structure to extract or replace individual textures.

The identity of the file format is confirmed by its first four bytes in hexadecimal: C8 44 0F 99. These appear at offset zero, and are sometimes shown in ASCII as ".D" for the first two characters.

How to open CDDS files

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

We have not yet verified any programs for Windows that work with this specific file format. If you know one, please use the 'Suggest a program' link below. Thanks!

Last updated: August 31, 2026

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