Minecraft Devs at 4J Studios Announce Reforj, a New Open-World Survival Game

The developers behind Minecraft's console editions, 4J Studios, are stepping out from the shadow of the pixelated giant to create their own open-world multiplayer survival game: Reforj. Built using their newly developed in-house Elements Engine, Reforj aims to deliver a fresh survival experience, though the team is quick to clarify—this is not Minecraft 2.

In a recent reveal, 4J Studios showcased Reforj's pre-alpha gameplay, emphasizing that the game is still in early development, with no official release date yet. The Elements Engine seems to allow for impressive world manipulation, similar to the creative freedom players enjoyed in Minecraft, but Reforj is taking a different approach.

Joseph Garrett, aka Stampy, a prominent Minecraft YouTuber who’s collaborating with 4J on this project, spoke to GamesIndustry.biz to address the inevitable comparisons. "The fact this is coming from 4J means that the comparisons to Minecraft are unavoidable," Garrett said. "But that's not what we're trying to do. Despite all of us being huge fans of Minecraft, we don't need to make another one. It already exists."

4J Studios co-founder Chris van der Kuyl also echoed this sentiment, highlighting that Reforj will deliver a "very different gameplay experience" than Minecraft, even if it retains some of the familiar world-changing mechanics. Unlike the blocky cube-building sandbox that defined Minecraft, Reforj may feature different structures and shapes that add complexity to the open-world building experience.

What's interesting is how 4J Studios is approaching Reforj's development. They plan to release the game early and build it in close collaboration with its community—a move that reflects how many modern survival and sandbox games are shaped by player feedback. However, 4J recognizes they are a small team and aren’t expecting Reforj to have the same explosive player base as Minecraft.

At this point, it’s hard to predict whether Reforj will stand out in an increasingly crowded genre of survival sandbox games. With titles like Trove, Ylands, and countless other Minecraft-inspired games having come and gone, Reforj will need to offer more than just a different take on block-building. And as many sandbox games experiment with moving away from the simple cube structure in favor of smaller or angled pieces, it remains to be seen if Reforj's unique gameplay mechanics will succeed where others have failed.

While it's too early to say if Reforj will be a game-changer, it’s certainly a title to keep an eye on, especially given the pedigree of 4J Studios and their history with one of the biggest games of all time.