The story of Hytale is an interesting one. The game began development around 2015 with the team behind the Hypixel Minecraft server, and after a few years of development, Riot Games acquired it in 2020. Earlier this year, in June, Riot announced that Hytale’s development was ending and that Hypixel Studios would be wound down, essentially canceling the game after nearly 10 years of development.
On November 17, the founder of Hypixel, Simon Collins-Laflamme, announced that Hypixel managed to acquire Hytale from Riot Games. During that time, Hypixel rehired more than 30 developers who had been working on the game and secured funding in hopes of bringing it to reality. Now, it wants the community to get involved because Hytale will enter Early Access on January 13, 2026.
In an announcement on the game’s official website, Collins-Laflamme confirmed that the team is returning to a four-year-old legacy build that had been abandoned. Hypixel has decided to step away from the newer engine and is focused on reviving the original version. Both Hytale and Hypixel Studios are independent again and have now brought the total team headcount to 50.
It admits that the older game build the team is using was meant for prototypes, so parts of the game will feel behind. Modding and creative tools, however, are in a decent state, but they’re ultimately not where the team wants them long term. When the game does enter Early Access, though, the team will be ready for players who want to create content on day one.
Hypixel says this will be a true early access launch, meaning the game is still very much in an unfinished state, as you can imagine. It will be buggy for a while, but Simon and Hypixel are committed to making Hytale the game they always wanted it to be. Preorders will open on December 13, 2025, and we can expect to hear more details in the coming weeks.
