HCA to MP3 Converter
Convert HCA audio from Persona, Yakuza & CRI Middleware games to MP3/WAV online free. Extract AWB containers too.
What is an HCA File?
HCA (High Compression Audio) is a proprietary audio codec developed by CRI Middleware, widely used in Japanese console and mobile games — from Persona 5 and Yakuza to Hatsune Miku Project DIVA and Genshin Impact. It achieves up to 16:1 compression while maintaining excellent quality. BGM Box uses vgmstream to decode HCA files directly in your browser — no CRI SDK, no command line, no install.
How to Convert HCA to MP3?
Drag your .hca file into the upload area above. vgmstream decodes it, and our MP3 encoder converts it to a standard MP3 at 192 kbps. Also supports .adx (CRI ADX format) and .awb (CRI container format).
Need lossless WAV output? Use the HCA to WAV Converter.
How to Extract HCA from AWB Files?
AWB (Atom Wave Bank) is the CRI ADX2 container that holds the actual HCA audio data — used by Persona 5, Genshin Impact, and many other games. Drop an .awb file onto this converter and vgmstream will extract and decode the HCA audio automatically. Note: if you only have an .acb (metadata) file, you need the matching .awb to extract the audio.
How to Play HCA Files?
You can play HCA files using BGM Box's online player, which decodes them via vgmstream. For desktop, use foobar2000 with the vgmstream plugin, or vgmstream-cli. Standard media players (VLC, iTunes, Windows Media Player) cannot play HCA files.
Common Games Using HCA Audio
- Persona 5 / Persona 5 Royal — CRI ADX2 pipeline with HCA
- Yakuza series — HCA containers for BGM and voice
- Genshin Impact — CRIWARE with HCA
- Hatsune Miku Project DIVA — Music tracks in HCA
- NieR:Automata — CRI ADX2 with HCA encoding
- Monster Hunter World / Rise — Dynamic music in HCA
- Resident Evil 2/3 Remake — HCA via CRI ADX2
- Sonic Frontiers — CRIWARE audio with HCA
Frequently Asked Questions
HCA (High Compression Audio) is a proprietary audio codec developed by CRI Middleware, widely used in Japanese games. It provides 4:1 to 16:1 compression with high audio quality, similar to MP3 but optimized for real-time decoding on console hardware. HCA files are commonly found in games using the CRI ADX2 audio pipeline.
Simply drag your .hca file onto the HCA to MP3 converter page. The vgmstream engine decodes the HCA audio to PCM, then our browser-based MP3 encoder converts it to a standard MP3 file at 192 kbps. The entire process runs locally in your browser — no CRI SDK required.
For lossless HCA to WAV conversion, use the HCA Converter page (/converter/hca-converter/). It decodes HCA audio and outputs uncompressed WAV for maximum quality. Alternatively, this MP3 converter page also supports WAV output via the "Download as WAV" option.
AWB (Atom Wave Bank) is the CRI ADX2 container format that holds the actual HCA audio data. BGM Box can decode HCA tracks directly from .awb files. Note: ACB (Atom Craft Bank) is a metadata/index file that references AWB audio — you need the paired .awb file, not just .acb, to extract the audio.
You can play HCA files using BGM Box's online player (/player/), which uses vgmstream for decoding. Or use desktop tools like foobar2000 with the vgmstream plugin, or vgmstream-cli. Most standard media players (VLC, Windows Media Player, iTunes) cannot play HCA files directly.