All about PACKAGE Files

The PACKAGE file type is primarily associated with The Sims.

PACKAGE	File extension: PACKAGE
	File type:	game data file

What is a PACKAGE file?

PACKAGE files mostly belong to The Sims by Electronic Arts. PACKAGE files are resource package archives used by a series of games.

Main usage: Mainly affiliated with Electronic Arts (EA) games, these files are most often utilized by The Sims and other Maxis games. PACKAGE files help store various compressed archives of one or more game files. These files generally use the XML format and contain a number of data starting from textures and sounds to 3D models and game data like characters and neighborhood information. Electronic Arts's own DBPF archive format is used to save these types of files. Other games by EA that use these files are The Sims 2, The Sims 3, The Sims 4, Simcity 4 and Spore.
Adoption: There's a series of utilities that enable users to edit, modify and repackage PACKAGE files, that are available on MacOS and Windows-based systems. Applications like SimPE and ContentManager are officially released by Electronic Arts to help and make it easier for their players to manage these types of files. Another application that can edit and open PACKAGE files is Auotpackage. This utility allows you to create binary packages that will install on Linux based systems.

How can I open a PACKAGE file?

You need a suitable software like The Sims to open a PACKAGE 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 PACKAGE file correctly, try to right-click or long-press the file. Then click "Open with" and choose an application. You can also display a PACKAGE file directly in the browser:. Just drag the file onto this browser window and drop it.

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Programs that open and convert PACKAGE files:

The Sims by Electronic Arts
See the previous paragraphs to learn more about the main application. PACKAGE files are often referred to as The Sims games because this type of file is primarily created or used by this software.
Autopackage (software installation package) by Jan Niklas Hasse
Autopackage is a software that creates installation packages for Linux. PACKAGE files are the software installation packages created by Autopackage. They are executable files. This file format is classified as Executable. Related links: Autopackage on Wikipedia, Autopackage Guide, Installling a PACKAGE File, Download Link to Stable Version
Visual Studio (project deployment package) by Microsoft
Visual Studio is an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) from Microsoft. It can be used to develop solutions for SharePoint, a collaboration and document management program from Microsoft. PACKAGE is the file that defines the project deployment package associated with this solution. This file format is classified as Developer. Related links: Visual Studio on Wikipedia, SharePoint on Wikipedia, Visual Studio Documentation on PACKAGE Files, Visual Studio Documentation on SharePoint Solutions

PACKAGE file format:

The file format, which is the arrangement and type of data in a file, determines which program can open the file. The first characters in a file identify the file format, for example, HTML files start with the bytes <html>. Nonetheless, different programs can utilize the same file extension to represent distinct file formats. Double-clicking on the file often results in an error when opening. When there is a problem with a file, the first step to solving it is to determine the file format. Below you will find our evaluation of the PACKAGE files:

The PACKAGE extension is very commonly found and mainly uses a defined PACKAGE format. The two most popular formats are as follows:

90% of all PACKAGE files are Maxis package/archive files. These are binary files, so they do not contain words or text. The file size is in the range of 27 KB to 23 MB. The file type was developed 10 years ago and is still in use today. Several words can almost always be found in the files, e.g. DBPF. These files are attributed to hair, sims, wicked, whims, pack, dress, turbodriver, strings and spore.
4% of all PACKAGE files use the same file format, which can be identified by the letters "PCK0" at the beginning. If you open these files in a text editor, you will see only illegible characters. PACKAGE files can be up to 550 MB in size, but are often around 3 MB - 260 MB. Certain words are almost always found in the files, such as PCK0 and animation. Some examples of file names are lua.package or text.package. These files can be linked to skin.

All other PACKAGE files (6%) have no consistent format, the following 5 formats exist: ZIP and UEsDBAoAAAAAAIAwhFEbRT. Sometimes used for tuning, animations, build, audio, mesh, merged or eyes. Drag & drop your file here to see the file format and a preview of your PACKAGE file!

Technical Data for PACKAGE File Extension

File classification:

Game

Related files:

ts4script, sims2pack, zip, pkg, abpackage, xsa, rar, sims3pack, pack, docx, wrap, istapackage, exe, exec, bpi, adbkey, cfg, jpg, workflow, 7z, xa, cheat

a package game data file is a special file format by Electronic Arts and should only be edited and saved with the appropriate software.

How to solve problems with PACKAGE files

Associate the PACKAGE file extension with the correct application.
Update your software that should actually open game data files. Because only the current version supports the latest PACKAGE file format. Search, therefore, e.g. on the Electronic Arts manufacturer website after an available The Sims update.
To make sure that your PACKAGE file is not corrupted or virus-infected, get the file again and scan it with Google's virustotal.com.