Texture File Formats (TGA, PNG, EXR)
Which image format to use for game textures
Also known as: TGA vs PNG · PNG vs TGA texture · EXR texture · Texture file format · Game texture formats · JPEG texture
Definition
TGA, PNG and EXR are the main image formats for game textures. TGA is simple and uncompressed or lightly compressed with alpha, long common in game pipelines. PNG is compressed without losing quality, stores alpha and is smaller on disk, with no quality difference. EXR holds 16 or 32 bit floating-point data, used for height maps and HDR images. JPEG is lossy and should not be used for source textures, since it adds artifacts.
In production
Keep your source textures lossless, in PNG or TGA at 8 bits for color and 16 bits for height and normal maps where banding shows, and let the engine compress them to its own formats, such as BC and ASTC, on import. Compressed formats like DDS are for delivery, not for editing. Use EXR for HDRIs and for displacement. Pick one format for the project and name files consistently.
