Voxel Tools
MagicaVoxel, Goxel, VoxEdit — voxel modeling and export.
Voxel modeling for game art. Voxels remain a beloved indie aesthetic and a workflow shortcut — fast iteration, baked-in lighting, easy to animate per-voxel. For broader 3D modeling see 3D modeling & rigging. For voxel-style asset libraries see free asset stores. For full landscape see Game Development.
Modeling
- ★ MagicaVoxel (ephtracy) — free, closed-source, donation-supported. The cult-favorite voxel editor. Path-traced renderer, instance editing, world view, animation timeline (basic), shader hacks. Outputs
.vox, exports OBJ/glTF. - ★ Goxel — free OSS (GPL), cross-platform, runs on Linux. More technically open than MagicaVoxel; render quality and path-tracer aren't as polished.
- VoxEdit (The Sandbox) — free desktop tool, voxel-with-rigging, designed for The Sandbox metaverse but produces general-use assets. Includes skeletal animation.
- Crocotile 3D — paid (~$15), low-poly tile-based 3D editor (not strict voxels but adjacent).
- Avoyd — paid voxel editor with destructible world support.
- Qubicle — paid, older voxel tool.
In-engine voxel runtime
- Cubiquity, Voxel Plugin Pro (Unreal) — runtime voxel terrain.
- Cubic World, Voxel Tools (Godot 4) — voxel terrain generation.
- Ultimate Terrains, Voxel Play (Unity) — paid Unity voxel runtime.
- Minecraft modding (Forge / Fabric) — voxel as a service if you can target Minecraft.
Voxel-to-mesh
- MagicaVoxel exports OBJ/glTF; the meshes are heavy.
- Voxelizers (in Blender, in MeshLab) convert from regular meshes the other direction.
- Mesh-decimation (see mesh processing) is essential for game-ready voxel exports.
Animation
- MagicaVoxel has frame-based animation.
- VoxEdit has skeletal animation (export to glTF).
- For complex rigs, model in voxels then rig the converted mesh in Blender (see 3D modeling & rigging).
Free voxel asset libraries
See free asset stores — Kenney.nl has voxel kits, Quaternius has voxel packs, OpenGameArt has CC0 voxel assets.
Pick this if…
- Default voxel editor: MagicaVoxel.
- OSS, Linux first: Goxel.
- Voxel rigs / animation: VoxEdit.
- In-game destructible voxels: Voxel Plugin Pro (Unreal) or Voxel Tools (Godot).
- Tile-style low poly (not strictly voxel): Crocotile 3D.