What is a BEA file? A BEA file is a game data archive used by a NintendoWare Bezel Engine video game. It contains game assets that have been compressed so they take up less space within a finalized game file. Nintendo Switch games such as Super Mario Party, Tetris 99, and WarioWare: Get It Together! include BEA files.

More Information BEA file open in Bezel Engine Archive Editor The NintendoWare Bezel Engine is a game engine Nintendo developed and released to make Switch video game development easier for third-party developers. However, both official Nintendo games and third-party games use the Bezel Engine. Games that use the Bezel Engine store their game assets, such as 3D models, 2D images, and sounds, in BEA archives. For example, the Switch version of Super Mario Party contains 456 BEA archives, each of which includes a subset of the game's models, sound effects, and other assets. Each game's BEA archives are found in the game's Archive folder. Most gamers will never encounter a BEA file. However, those interested in examining Switch games' structure or modding the games may encounter BEA archives while browsing Bezel Engine games' data. NOTE: BEA files created for use in a Switch program always include the abbreviation nxonnx32 or nx in their filename, while BEA files created to test a Switch program in Windows always include either the nxonwin32 or nxonwin64 abbreviation.