I'm a bit confused about an image I'm trying to use as a Steam logo. It has a PNG file extension and looks like a regular PNG when I view it directly. However, when I try to post it on Steam or preview it, it appears animated. How is this possible?
5 Answers
Right on point! The filename ending with `-fakepng.png` is a red flag. Many platforms don't support WebP directly since it's relatively newer, so they prompt the download as PNG for broader usability. Just look at the file’s true content to clear things up!
If you download the image directly, you'll notice it has a filename like `-fakepng.png`. If you inspect the file using commands in Linux, it'll reveal that it's actually a WebP format, not a true PNG. The file signature should start with `RIFF`, which is a classic marker for WebP files. So despite what the extension says, the contents tell a different story. This is why it might work on certain platforms but not everywhere.
Totally! The confusion around extensions can really lead to misunderstandings about file types.
Yeah, most likely it’s an animated WebP! The download prompt claiming it’s a PNG is just a workaround for compatibility, and in a lot of systems, it really won't change the format. Just check the file header, and you'll see it isn't really PNG at all!
Animated PNGs are indeed a thing! It's possible that what you're dealing with is actually an animated PNG, which is a bit of a quirky format. Just so you know, PNGs tend to be larger files, and animated ones can be even heftier—like the one you're looking at, which is around 11.2MB. Sometimes what happens is that people take a WebP or GIF and just rename the file to have a .png extension. The browser might show it as a PNG, but it reads the file type differently, which is how you end up seeing that animation. On my Windows viewer, the animation didn't play, but it worked fine in Firefox!
I actually downloaded it and saw that it was a WebP file dressed as a PNG! When I checked it with ImageMagick, it confirmed it as a WebP. So, it sounds like that's what's going on here.
Exactly! The fact that it has `-fakepng` in the name is a pretty good hint. If you check the file information directly, you’ll see it’s not really a PNG.
Just to clarify, that file you have is an animated WebP image masquerading as a PNG. File extensions can be misleading, so always double-check what's inside. It's common for sites to allow that kind of file trickery, especially for compatibility reasons. Animated PNGs do exist, but in your case, you're looking at a WebP!
That makes sense! I wasn't aware of the file signatures—thank you for explaining that!