.BNK File Extension
Adlib Instrument Bank
| Developer | Adlib |
| Popularity |
3.5 | 51 Votes |
What is a BNK file?
Instrument banks accessed by Adlib Visual Composer, a music composition program; designed to be loaded with .ROL files; contains custom instrument data to accompany the ROL files that contain the notes to play the instruments that make up the scores.
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Common BNK Filenames
standard.bnk - Original BNK file containing a variety of voices to choose from.
Programs that open or reference BNK files
Spotify Playlist File
| Developer | Spotify |
| Popularity |
2.9 | 26 Votes |
Playlist created by Spotify, a music streaming program; contains your playlist data, which are the tracks you've added to the playlist; you typically never see it unless you dig through the program's code.
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In Windows, these files are located in the following directory C:\Users\.CONFIG\AppData\Roaming\Spotify\Users\USER_ID.
To be safe and protect your playlist from unwanted edits or accidental deletion, you should locate your specific playlist.bnk file in the directory and copy it to another folder on your computer for safekeeping.
Common BNK Filenames
playlist.bnk - Most common name used with the BNK extension.
Programs that open BNK files
Test Drive Unlimited Data Package
| Developer | Eden Games |
| Popularity |
2.4 | 12 Votes |
Package format used by Test Drive Unlimited (TDU), a sports car racing game; contains individual game data files, such as 3D models, sound effects, and music files.
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The contents of a BNK file can be extracted using a third-party utility, such as TDU Modding Tools. Edited BNK files may be used to modify the gameplay of Test Drive Unlimited.
Programs that open BNK files
ExamView Question Bank File
| Developer | Turning Technologies |
| Popularity |
2.0 | 12 Votes |
A BNK file may also be a data file created by Turning Technologies ExamView, a program used to create assignments and assessment questions to evaluate student performance. It contains a bank of one or more questions created by the Test Generator tool included with ExamView. BNK files can be opened by the Question Bank Editor, which is part of ExamView.
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In order to open a BNK file in ExamView you must be using the Question Bank Editor module in ExamView. You can identify which module you are using by looking at the active module name displayed in the title bar of the ExamView window. To switch to the Question Bank Editor module, select File → Switch to Question Bank Editor.
Programs that open BNK files
Wwise Soundbank
| Developer | Audiokinetic |
| Popularity |
3.5 | 2 Votes |
A BNK file may also be a soundbank created by Wwise, a tool used to create soundscapes for interactive media and video games. It contains information about the contents of a soundbank, which may include sound effects, background music, voiceovers, and music tracks, as well as audio playback instructions such as volume levels, looping settings, and spatial effects. BNK files may also store soundbank metadata, such as platform-dependent settings for optimizing the playback of the soundbank based on the device hardware.
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Wwise developed the format to consolidate various audio resources and instructions for a game or application in one package. Therefore, instead of loading individual sounds for each sound effect, music track, voiceover, etc., Wwise groups them all in one soundbank (BNK file), so the game or application can load the audio more efficiently.
NOTE: Wwise is short for Wave Works Interactive Sound Engine.
How to open a BNK file
You can open a BNK file with Audiokinetic Wwise in Windows. To open a BNK file with Wwise:
- Open a project (.WPROJ file).
- Go to the “Project Explorer” or the “Soundbank Manager."
- Link the BNK file to a specific event or sequence in the project.
You can then view the sound events and audio assets the BNK file contains and adjust playback settings, add effects, and make other modifications.
Programs that open BNK files
NN Binary Chunk
| Developer | Sega |
| Popularity |
1.0 | 1 Vote |
A BNK file may also be a game data file used by a video game developed using Sega's NN framework. It contains a collection of game assets, such as 3D models, textures, sounds, and/or animations. Examples of games that use BNK files include Transformers: Human Alliance, The House of the Dead 4, and Sonic Unleashed.
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NN is a framework Sega began using to develop video games in the early 2000s. The first game known to use the NN framework is 2004's Sega Superstars.
Games developed using the NN framework store several types of game data in BNK files. While most players will never encounter a BNK file, Sega game modders have created scripts and utilities that allow them to extract, view, and edit some of the assets that BNK files contain.
Some other Sega games that use BNK files include:
- Sonic Riders
- Bleach: Shattered Blade
- Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz
- Phantasy Star Universe
How to open a BNK file
You can use QuickBMS and the SegaNNExtract_MOD.bms script to extract the assets that BNK files contain. However, SegaNNExtract_MOD.bms is no longer hosted online. Thus, if you do not already possess SegaNNExtract_MOD.bms, you likely will not be able to extract the assets a BNK file contains.