Hytale, the long-awaited Minecraft-inspired sandbox game, has finally entered early access on PC following a dramatic revival. After being canceled by Riot Games in 2025, Hypixel Studios reacquired the project and secured funding through pre-orders. The launch has seen strong initial success, with nearly 3 million players and top Twitch viewership.
Hytale's development began in 2015 by Hypixel Studios, a team of Minecraft modders from the Hypixel server. Riot Games funded the project and acquired the studio in 2020, but canceled it in June 2025, citing evolving visions and technical challenges that left the game behind schedule. "Over time, as our vision evolved and the genre matured around us, the bar kept rising," Hypixel noted in a deleted blog post. Riot provided severance and resources to the team.
In November 2025, Hypixel co-founder Simon Collins-Laflamme reacquired the IP from Riot without full project details, taking on significant risks. The studio rehired 30 developers, returned to the original engine, and committed to a 10-year personal funding pledge from core team members, with no external investors. Pre-orders exceeded expectations, securing two years of development costs, as Collins-Laflamme announced on X: "We have officially secured the next two years of development costs through pre-purchases. Combined with my personal commitment of ten years, we are looking very strong for the future."
The game launched in early access on January 13, 2026, via the Hytale Launcher for $20 in the Starter Edition. It features core systems like exploration, combat, building, and community servers in a procedurally generated world with stylized graphics. Modes include Survival, Creative, and Exploration, with Adventure mode planned later for story and quests. The launch attracted almost 3 million players and became the most-watched game on Twitch with 420,000 viewers in the first 24 hours.
A first hotfix addressed crashes, localization issues for Norwegian players, and bucket-related bugs. Hypixel emphasized the game's unfinished state after just two months of preparation: "It’s only been two months since we reacquired Hytale – and that’s how long we’ve had to prepare the game and rebuild the team from the ground up." Future plans include new biomes, bosses, multiplayer features like friends lists, official minigames, and console support. Modding is already available, with creative examples like running Doom via imported assets. Riot congratulated the team on launch day, marking a positive turn after the cancellation.
