diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 7195ee02..60fe8ac8 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1300,6 +1300,7 @@ add_executable(wowee_editor
     tools/editor/wowee_terrain.cpp
     tools/editor/editor_project.cpp
     tools/editor/texture_exporter.cpp
+    tools/editor/dbc_exporter.cpp
     tools/editor/asset_browser.cpp
     tools/editor/editor_water.cpp
     tools/editor/editor_markers.cpp
diff --git a/tools/editor/dbc_exporter.cpp b/tools/editor/dbc_exporter.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..795e311f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/editor/dbc_exporter.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+#include "dbc_exporter.hpp"
+#include "pipeline/asset_manager.hpp"
+#include "core/logger.hpp"
+#include <fstream>
+#include <filesystem>
+
+namespace wowee {
+namespace editor {
+
+bool DBCExporter::exportAsJson(pipeline::AssetManager* am,
+                                const std::string& dbcName,
+                                const std::string& outputPath) {
+    auto dbc = am->loadDBC(dbcName);
+    if (!dbc || !dbc->isLoaded()) return false;
+
+    namespace fs = std::filesystem;
+    fs::create_directories(fs::path(outputPath).parent_path());
+
+    std::ofstream f(outputPath);
+    if (!f) return false;
+
+    f << "{\n";
+    f << "  \"format\": \"wowee-dbc-json-1.0\",\n";
+    f << "  \"source\": \"" << dbcName << "\",\n";
+    f << "  \"recordCount\": " << dbc->getRecordCount() << ",\n";
+    f << "  \"fieldCount\": " << dbc->getFieldCount() << ",\n";
+    f << "  \"records\": [\n";
+
+    for (uint32_t i = 0; i < dbc->getRecordCount(); i++) {
+        f << "    [";
+        for (uint32_t j = 0; j < dbc->getFieldCount(); j++) {
+            // Try to detect string fields vs numeric
+            uint32_t val = dbc->getUInt32(i, j);
+            // Check if it looks like a string offset (points into string block)
+            std::string strVal = dbc->getString(i, j);
+            if (!strVal.empty() && strVal[0] != '\0' && strVal.size() < 200) {
+                // Escape quotes in string
+                std::string escaped;
+                for (char c : strVal) {
+                    if (c == '"') escaped += "\\\"";
+                    else if (c == '\\') escaped += "\\\\";
+                    else if (c == '\n') escaped += "\\n";
+                    else escaped += c;
+                }
+                f << "\"" << escaped << "\"";
+            } else {
+                // Check if it's a float
+                float fval = dbc->getFloat(i, j);
+                if (val != 0 && fval != 0.0f && fval > -1e10f && fval < 1e10f &&
+                    static_cast<uint32_t>(fval) != val) {
+                    f << fval;
+                } else {
+                    f << val;
+                }
+            }
+            if (j + 1 < dbc->getFieldCount()) f << ", ";
+        }
+        f << "]" << (i + 1 < dbc->getRecordCount() ? "," : "") << "\n";
+    }
+
+    f << "  ]\n}\n";
+
+    LOG_INFO("DBC exported as JSON: ", dbcName, " → ", outputPath,
+             " (", dbc->getRecordCount(), " records)");
+    return true;
+}
+
+int DBCExporter::exportZoneDBCs(pipeline::AssetManager* am,
+                                  const std::string& outputDir) {
+    // Zone-relevant DBCs for custom content
+    const char* zoneDBCs[] = {
+        "AreaTable.dbc",
+        "Map.dbc",
+        "Light.dbc",
+        "LightParams.dbc",
+        "ZoneMusic.dbc",
+        "SoundAmbience.dbc",
+        "GroundEffectTexture.dbc",
+        "GroundEffectDoodad.dbc",
+        "LiquidType.dbc"
+    };
+
+    int exported = 0;
+    for (const char* name : zoneDBCs) {
+        std::string baseName(name);
+        auto dot = baseName.rfind('.');
+        if (dot != std::string::npos) baseName = baseName.substr(0, dot);
+
+        std::string outPath = outputDir + "/" + baseName + ".json";
+        if (exportAsJson(am, name, outPath))
+            exported++;
+    }
+
+    LOG_INFO("Exported ", exported, " zone-relevant DBCs as JSON to ", outputDir);
+    return exported;
+}
+
+} // namespace editor
+} // namespace wowee
diff --git a/tools/editor/dbc_exporter.hpp b/tools/editor/dbc_exporter.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d917b83c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/editor/dbc_exporter.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+#pragma once
+
+#include "pipeline/dbc_loader.hpp"
+#include <string>
+#include <vector>
+
+namespace wowee {
+namespace pipeline { class AssetManager; }
+
+namespace editor {
+
+class DBCExporter {
+public:
+    // Export a DBC file as JSON with field names from layout
+    static bool exportAsJson(pipeline::AssetManager* am,
+                              const std::string& dbcName,
+                              const std::string& outputPath);
+
+    // Export all zone-relevant DBCs to JSON
+    static int exportZoneDBCs(pipeline::AssetManager* am,
+                               const std::string& outputDir);
+};
+
+} // namespace editor
+} // namespace wowee
diff --git a/tools/editor/editor_app.cpp b/tools/editor/editor_app.cpp
index d8e70df4..38575d8d 100644
--- a/tools/editor/editor_app.cpp
+++ b/tools/editor/editor_app.cpp
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 #include "content_pack.hpp"
 #include "wowee_terrain.hpp"
 #include "texture_exporter.hpp"
+#include "dbc_exporter.hpp"
 #include "core/coordinates.hpp"
 #include "rendering/vk_context.hpp"
 #include "pipeline/adt_loader.hpp"
@@ -740,6 +741,9 @@ void EditorApp::exportZone(const std::string& outputDir) {
         LOG_INFO("Exported ", exported, " textures as PNG");
     }
 
+    // Export zone-relevant DBCs as JSON (open format replacement for DBC)
+    DBCExporter::exportZoneDBCs(assetManager_.get(), base + "/data");
+
     // Export open terrain format alongside ADT
     std::string openBase = base + "/" + loadedMap_ + "_" +
                            std::to_string(loadedTileX_) + "_" + std::to_string(loadedTileY_);