A New Look for Reforj: Explore the World’s Stunning Rixel Transformation

Reforj is undergoing its most significant visual and technical evolution to date with Title Update 8, introducing a brand-new art system built around proprietary technology called "Rixels."

Developed over six months by the game's art and engineering teams, the Rixel system replaces Reforj’s previous faceted art style, which struggled with fine details and diagonal lines, often causing fuzzy visual inconsistencies. As described by Xbox Wire, "At first glance, a Rixel might look familiar. Much like pixels are the building blocks of traditional digital art, Rixels are the building blocks of Reforj’s new visual identity—but they’re capable of much more."

Geometric Shapes and Material Properties

Unlike traditional pixel art that relies on rigid square shapes, the Rixel system introduces greater visual complexity and customization directly into the environment's building blocks.

According to Xbox Wire, "Traditional pixel art relies entirely on square shapes. Rixels can currently take on up to 23 unique shapes, with each shape supporting its own material properties such as metallic levels, roughness, and more." This expanded flexibility allows the team to deliver a sharper, cleaner, and more expressive aesthetic without sacrificing the overall visual clarity of the world.

Major Storage Reductions

Beyond visual improvements, the transition to Rixels delivers massive performance and file size benefits behind the scenes.

Under the old faceted system, a single texture required a 512×512 image consuming roughly 4MB of storage space. With the Rixel implementation, that same texture requires approximately 72KB—a dramatic 98.2% reduction in storage costs. This massive decrease in visual overhead frees up developer resources, allowing the studio to experiment with new design concepts, test new materials, and create more content than was previously practical.

How to Access Title Update 8

The Rixel transformation is available immediately to Xbox players. The update can be tested via the Reforj Pre-Alpha build on Xbox Series X|S consoles, accessible by joining the preview through the Xbox Insider Hub.

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• Xbox Wire Hero image: https://xboxwire.thesourcemediaassets.com/sites/2/2026/07/4J_Reforj_KeyArt2_Multiplayer_RIXELS_4K-2bbbb93b12c705a0e61a.jpg