In June, Hypixel and its parent company, Riot Games, announced that the Minecraft-inspired adventure game Hytale was canceled after 10 years of development. At that time, Hypixel was set to be shuttered as well. But now, the founders of Hypixel have rescued the studio with plans to finally bring Hytale into early access.
Hypixel co-founder Simon Collins-Laflamme announced the news on social media that his studio has repurchased the rights for Hytale from Riot Games and plans to release it as soon as possible. However, he cautioned fans to temper their expectations as the game remains unpolished. While Collins-Laflamme acknowledged that “there’s a lot of work to be done,” he added that there will be, “No more waiting. You’ll get to play it, rough edges and all. It won’t be perfect on day one. My hope is that together, we’ll shape it into something truly special.”
We did it. Hytale is saved. We have acquired Hytale from Riot Games.
— Simon (@Simon_Hypixel) November 17, 2025
In a lengthy post on Hytale’s official site, Collins-Laflamme noted that he and his Hypixel co-founder Philippe Touchette are co-funding the resurrected Hytale, with Kevin Carstens as the technical lead and Patrick Derbic as the management lead. They also announced that 30 developers who previously worked on Hytale have been hired to return.
Collins-Laflamme also revealed that the team is dropping the current Cross-platform Engine build of Hytale because it “is significantly behind in terms of gameplay” and it would take years to reach early access. Instead, the team is reverting back to The Legacy Engine build, which is four-years old and significantly further along.
Early access is expected to “last at least a few years,” as the team doesn’t want to rush it through development. Exploration Mode, Creative Mode, and modding will be available at the launch of early access. However, minigames and Adventure Mode will be saved for a later date. The Hypixel founders added that they are committed to funding this project for 10 years, and they are fully independent with no outside investors or publishers.