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HOME/USEFUL GUIDES/COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO 3D FILE FORMATS/VOX FILE FORMAT EXPLAINED

VOX File Format Explained

The VOX format is the native file format for MagicaVoxel, a lightweight voxel art editor and renderer. It is a RIFF-style binary format designed to store voxel models and scene data.

	Icon	Extension	Original Software	Year	Primary Industry	Geometry	UV Maps	Textures	PBR	Animation	Rigging	Open Use
		.VOX	MagicaVoxel	2015	Game Development Voxel Art	Voxel	–	–	–	✔	–	✔
VOX File Format Details What It Stores It stores voxel model data as x, y, z, and color index values, with 1 byte for each component. Extended VOX files can also store multiple models, palette data, scene graph information such as transform, group, and shape nodes, and material properties such as diffuse, metal, glass, and emit. Primary Use Cases Creating stylized 3D pixel art assets for indie games. Prototyping environmental layouts and character models. Exporting voxel geometry to mesh-based formats for rendering. Strengths Compact file size for complex volumetric structures. Preserves the distinct blocky aesthetic without complex topology. Simplified workflow for artists transitioning from 2D to 3D. Limitations Uses palette-based color data rather than full material or texture workflows. Does not support traditional vertex-based rigging or skeletal animation. Common Software Support Natively supported by MagicaVoxel. Blender support is available through the Blender Extensions MagicaVoxel VOX importer, while Unity and Unreal Engine workflows generally require third-party importers or conversion to supported mesh formats.

Browse VOX Assets on RenderHub