Hytale is Saved!

The Hytale community can breathe a collective sigh of relief. After the devastating announcement in June 2025 that development was ending, founder Simon Collins-Laflamme and the Hypixel team have pulled off what many thought impossible: they've bought back the game and assembled a team to bring it to players.

From Shutdown to Salvation

When Riot Games announced they were shutting down Hytale development on June 23, 2025, it seemed like the end of a dream. The ambitious block-based adventure game had captured imaginations since its initial reveal, but years of development challenges had taken their toll.

What happened next was remarkable. Seeing the community's passionate response, Collins-Laflamme and co-founder Philippe Touchette made an offer to Riot Games without even seeing the full project state. They negotiated the acquisition, rehired over 30 original developers who knew the game intimately, and made the critical decision to return to the legacy engine that powered the original trailer.

What's Coming in Early Access

The team is being refreshingly honest about what early access means. Expect bugs, rough edges, unbalanced content, and frequent updates that might break things. This isn't a polished launch—it's a raw, unfinished experience with enormous potential that the community will help shape.

What's Not Ready Yet

Official minigames and Adventure Mode won't be available at launch. While these were core to the original vision, the infrastructure isn't ready. A dedicated team will work on minigames once the core game stabilizes. In the meantime, the community can create their own minigames and custom server experiences.

The Technical Decision That Changed Everything

Perhaps the most crucial choice was abandoning the newer cross-platform engine. While Riot Games had spent three years developing a modern C++ engine, it was significantly behind in gameplay features and would have required an estimated two more years before early access.

Instead, the team returned to the Legacy Engine—the C#/Java codebase that powered the trailer and original blog posts from three to four years ago. It's playable now, feature-rich, and captures what Hytale was meant to be. Cross-platform support will come later, but there's no rush.

Modding: The Foundation of Longevity

Modding isn't just a feature for this reborn Hytale—it's critical to survival. The team is launching with extensive modding capabilities:

This commitment to modding means server operators and content creators will have the tools they need to build thriving communities from day one. The vision is for the community to potentially become even better at creating minigames and experiences than the official team.

A Transparent, Long-Term Vision

The new independent Hytale operates differently than before. Collins-Laflamme and Touchette are personally funding the project for a decade. They own 100% of the game—no investors, no publishers, no external pressures.

The team is deliberately staying small to move fast and avoid bureaucracy. They're releasing features quickly and iterating based on player feedback. Expect very frequent updates, transparent patch notes, and honest communication about what's working and what isn't.

What This Means for Server Operators

For those planning to run Hytale servers, this is an exciting opportunity to get in on the ground floor. With full modding support at launch and server source code access coming soon, you'll have unprecedented freedom to create unique experiences.

The early access period—expected to last at least a few years—means you can grow alongside the game. As systems stabilize and new features arrive, server communities will help shape what Hytale becomes.

The Road Ahead

This won't be easy, fast, or perfect. The team is starting over with a four-year-old build, a small dedicated team, and a community that refused to give up. Early access players will encounter bugs, placeholder content, and systems that need balancing.

But there's something special about this moment. A game that seemed lost forever has been rescued by the people who care about it most. It will be built transparently, one feature at a time, with the community's help every step of the way.

The initial focus is polishing the living world, core mechanics, and sandbox experience. Once those systems feel solid, development will shift hard into Adventure Mode and minigames to deliver the complete Hytale experience.

How You Can Help

The team needs the community's support to make this work. Play the early access version even when it's rough. Report bugs and give honest feedback. Create mods and share content. Be patient when things break and trust the long-term vision. Make guides to help others learn the game.

This is genuine early access—not a marketing ploy, but a raw development process where players help build the game. Your feedback will directly influence what Hytale becomes.

After years of waiting, setbacks, and uncertainty, Hytale is finally coming to players. It's not the journey anyone expected, but perhaps that makes this moment even more meaningful. The community kept hope alive, and now they'll help build the game together.

Hytale is saved. Welcome back, adventurers.