Hytale is a sandbox game developed and published by Canadian developer Hypixel Studios. Development began in 2015 by members of the Minecraft server team of Hypixel with funding from Riot Games, which would go on to purchase the studio in 2020. The game was canceled in June 2025, before being revived in November 2025 by its original creator, Simon Collins-Laflamme, who had repurchased it and recommenced development. Hytale was released in early access on 13 January 2026 to positive reception.
Hytale features a fantasy world composed of procedurally-generated blocks of numerous shapes arranged in a three-dimensional grid, featuring different biomes, creatures, and dungeons.[1] Players are able to participate in minigames similar to those found on the Hypixel server and able to build and share mods and custom content using a set of browser-based and in-game tools.[2][3]
Hytale features several procedurally-generated areas of the world known as "zones" made up of many biomes and mobs.[4] This mode is planned to have RPG-styled combat with dungeon exploration and dynamic boss encounters. Hytale features block-based construction and include many different world editing and cinematic tools players can use in-game.[4] It is also planned to feature a visual scripting system that would allow players to create or edit content without needing extensive knowledge of coding languages, as well as a dedicated Blockbench plugin for modeling and animating custom assets.[5][6] It is planned to feature both official and community-run servers.[2]
Gameplay screenshot showing the player using a weapon to block an attack from an undead enemy
In a blog post by the Hytale Team from 17 November 2025, it was announced that the studio was re-acquired by Simon Collins-Laflamme (without confirmation regarding whether or not existing plans would be continued upon release), and that content at launch will feature Exploration and Creative modes as well as modding support.[7]
Development
Development of Hytale began in early 2015.[8] It was being developed by Hypixel Studios for PC, consoles, and mobile devices.[1][9][10] The client was initially developed in C# with the server technology in Java,[11] but both the client and server were rewritten in C++ in 2022.[12] It was being directed by Aaron "Noxy" Donaghey of Hypixel Studios, a Canadian-Irish indie game studio of over forty employees who split off from Hypixel Inc., the company behind the Hypixel server in Minecraft.[13][14][15] The idea for Hytale arose due to end-user license agreement changes by Mojang in 2014 which blocked servers from having micro-transactions that affected gameplay, leading to an 85% drop in the Hypixel server's revenue.[1][16][17] They originally wanted to avoid making a voxel-based game, but eventually decided to do so as they had experience in that genre from working on Hypixel.[1]
Hypixel Studios was at first self-financed with revenue generated by the Hypixel server. The studio subsequently received support from Riot Games, which invested several million dollars in the studio,[18][19][20][21] along with an advisory group that included businessmen Dennis Fong, Rob Pardo, and Peter Levine.[18] The studio was fully acquired by Riot Games in April 2020.[22]Hytale was announced in December 2018, with the trailer amassing over 31 million views within a month.[23]
Hytale, originally intended to be playable in 2021, was delayed several times due to its scope increasing.[12][24] In July 2024, Hytale's developers reported that it was being migrated to a new engine, a process that was expected to be complete by the end of the year.[25]
Cancellation and revival
On 23 June 2025, after over 10 years of development, Donaghey announced its cancellation and closure of Hypixel Studios, citing its overly ambitious nature.[26]
Soon after the cancellation on 13 August 2025, Simon Collins-Laflamme, the original founder of Hytale and Hypixel Studios, made an announcement that they were in active negotiations to acquire Hytale from Riot Games.[27] Soon after, Collins-Laflamme made it clear that he would share any information he could throughout the process.[28]
Following Hytale's cancellation, Anego Studios, the developers of the sandbox survival game Vintage Story, announced their intention to create an adventure mode for it inspired by Hytale.[29] This was later revealed as Project Glint, a standalone game to be created by several former Hypixel Studios hired by Anego.[30]
On 17 November 2025, Collins-Laflamme confirmed he had reacquired the intellectual property rights for Hytale on Twitter.[31]Hytale was publicly re-announced, with the return of the original Hytale site. On it, a new article was published, titled "HYTALE IS SAVED!" with Collins-Laflamme confirming 30 developers had been re-hired with plans to continue re-hiring.[32] A 16-minute long video of "raw" legacy engine gameplay was released to YouTube on 18 November. Though the newer engine is no longer being used, cross-platform support is still planned for the legacy engine.[33]
Early access release
Hytale entered early access on 13 January 2026.[34][35][36] Collins-Laflamme clarified that Hytale would not initially be published to Steam, citing the state of it as a factor.[37] Account creation and name reservations began a week before pre-purchase became available on 13 December 2025.[38]Hytale would be available to purchase in three separate versions: Standard, "Supporter" and "Cursebreaker (Founder's Edition)".[39]
Collins-Laflamme stated on social media that pre-purchase revenue had secured funding for at least the next two years of development, underscoring the strong initial interest and financial backing it had garnered despite its unfinished state.[40][41] User-created mods emerged shortly after the game's early access release.[42]
Hytale received its first update after its early access release on 17 January 2026.[43]
Reception
Early access
Hytale's early access release was well received by critics, who positively compared it to Minecraft. In a preliminary review, IGN praised Hytale's gameplay, controls, and enemy variety, but criticized the release's lack of direction.[44]PC Gamer said that, despite Collins-Laflamme saying Hytale "isn't good yet", it "already feels pretty good", praising its gameplay, variety of biomes, and non-player characters.[45]Eurogamer also praised Hytale, saying that it is "already enjoyable" and lauding its variety of mechanics, environments, and non-player characters.[46]
Minecraft's lead designer Jens Bergensten commented on the similarities between Minecraft and Hytale, expressing that the two games should be more different and stating that he would "rather just play Minecraft", while also calling Hytale "very polished" and expressing his desire to play it in the future.[47][48]
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