The game that wants to compete with Minecraft and Riot wanted to kill is already a tremendous success

There are games that have bizarre and incredible stories. Stories of insane developments, impossible launches, or unexpected massive sales. Few are those that are all of that and also can say they survived being, literally, canceled. But that is what has happened with a game that has just been released in early access and promises to be talked about not only during 2026 but for years to come. Its name is Hytale, Riot Games wanted to kill it and its developers have shown that it was a mistake to try. The game that Riot Games canceled and has been a success Hytale […]

There are games that have bizarre and incredible stories. Stories of insane developments, impossible launches, or unexpected massive sales. Few can claim to be all of that and also say they survived being, literally, canceled. But that is what has happened with a game that has just been released in early access and promises to be talked about not only during 2026 but for years to come. Its name is Hytale, Riot Games wanted to kill it, and its developers have shown that it was a mistake to try.

The game that Riot Games canceled and has been a success

Hytale is a game that was born with the premise of becoming a new Minecraft. Literally. Starting its development in early 2015, the game is created by Aaron “Noxy” Donaghey from Hypixel Studios, a studio with more than forty employees, whose origin is the Hypixel server of Minecraft.

Although perhaps not known outside the Minecraft community, Hypixel Network, or Hypixel, is one of the most important servers of the game. Launching its beta on April 13, 2013, by Simon Collins-Laflamme and Philippe Touchett, its premise was simple: to offer adventure maps they created together. But that is not what made the server popular. To ensure that the waits between player connections were not tedious, they created minigames for already connected players to entertain themselves in the meantime. And they became so popular that Hypixel became a server specialized in minigames.

With four Guinness World Records, two of them for being the Minecraft or any independent game server with the most concurrent players (64,533 as of July 7, 2017), having the most games on a Minecraft server (43 as of August 11, 2017), and having the most registered users on a Minecraft server (11,982,298 players as of August 24, 2017), it is one of the largest, if not the largest Minecraft server in the world. And for this reason, it is logical that Hypixel wanted to create their own game.

Especially because they had a more than evident reason to want to have control over their servers. A change in the terms of use of Minecraft by the developing company, Mojang, meant that, in 2014, there could be no microtransactions that affected gameplay on the game’s servers. This caused an 85% drop in Hypixel’s revenue, leading the server to lose the vast majority of its profits. This made them decide to respond by creating their own version of the game less than a year later.

The development began with the funding of the Hypixel server, but in December 2018 they not only announced the existence of the game and revealed its name, Hytale, but also received significant support from one of the largest companies in the world: Riot Games. Investing several million dollars, they maintained a close relationship that led to Riot acquiring Hypixel Studios in April 2020 for an amount that has still not been disclosed.

By then, Hytale already had two and a half million pre-registered users. With over 30 million views of its trailer during its first month, this led to the game growing in scale. Although it was scheduled for a release in 2021, it was delayed several times, leading players to think that the game would never be released. This seemed to be confirmed when Donaghey announced the cancellation of Hytale and the closure of Hypixel Studios on June 23, 2025, after more than ten years of development, because he believed that the game was too ambitious to succeed.

A story of rebirth

Collins-Laflamme, the original founder of the studio, did not share the same opinion. After the project’s cancellation, he negotiated with Riot Games to take over the project and, on November 17, 2025, officially confirmed that he had acquired the intellectual property of Hytale. This way, he re-hired more than 30 developers from the original project, abandoned the engine they were developing for the game, and reverted to the previous engine.

Hytale has finally been released on January 13, 2026, although with some caveats. It is in early access and according to Collins-Laflamme himself, “it’s still not very good.” If you want to buy it, it’s not available in stores, only on its official page. And you have three possible editions: the standard, the supporter, and the cursebreaker, costing respectively €20.72, €36.27, and €72.55.

Although the official figures are expected to take a few more days to be released, we already know that the game has been a success. Not only because it has taken social media and streaming services by storm as a true Minecraft killer, offering an adventure game that iterates and improves everything that made Mojang’s game great, but also because Collins-Laflame has confirmed this. Stating that, just with what they have sold so far, they can already cover the development of at least the next two years of the game.

That’s why, although we still need to see how it will evolve over time, it seems that we will have Hytale for a long time. And it seems that, for the first time in history since its launch, Minecraft has found a competitor of its caliber.

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Hytale is an open-world RPG that emerged under the umbrella of the Minecraft community. It provides the player with a great level of freedom to explore, create, and unleash all their creativity.

The creators of the indie Minecraft claim that they are going to revolutionize the procedural world generation system

Hytale, the highly anticipated open-world game that has captured the attention of the gaming community, will launch in early access next week. The developers are revealing more details about their vision and plans just before this much-anticipated release. One of the most significant features that will be introduced after launch is a renewed approach to world generation, which, according to founder Simon Collins-Laflamme, represents a “fundamental shift” in how sandbox games, similar to Minecraft, will create their play spaces in the future. A sandbox that wants to take the […]

Hytale, the highly anticipated open-world game that has captured the attention of the gaming community, will launch in early access next week. The developers are revealing more details about their vision and plans just before this much-anticipated launch. One of the most significant features to be introduced after the launch is a renewed approach to world generation, which, according to founder Simon Collins-Laflamme, represents a “fundamental shift” in how sandbox games, similar to Minecraft, will create their play spaces in the future.

A sandbox that wants to take the virtues of Minecraft to another level

At the beginning of early access, Hytale’s exploration mode will still use the “V1” world generation system, which was developed between 2016 and 2020. However, the new “V2” system, in development since 2021, will eventually replace the former, promising significant changes. Although V2 will still be a procedural generation system, it will introduce more meaningful patterns defined by the designers. This will allow, for example, generators to create certain environments, such as dark-leaved trees over caves, which will guide players during their exploration.

Developers aim to provide modders with tools that allow them to create world generation parameters easily, without the need for programming knowledge. With a node-based editor, users will be able to modify world generation variables and see the changes reflected in real time. Collins-Laflamme states that “this new approach will redefine the block game genre”, giving artists and game designers complete control over the final outcome of world creation.

To carry out this ambitious vision, the Hytale team is hiring more than 15 world designers, an unusual decision for a procedurally generated sandbox game. “The vision of Hytale is to feel carefully crafted while remaining infinitely procedural,” adds Collins-Laflamme. The journey of Hytale has been challenging, and the leadership has admitted that “it’s a miracle that we were able to save” what was once a canceled project.

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Hytale, the indie Minecraft, has returned with a very interesting business strategy: to claim that it will be released "incomplete and broken"

Hytale, the ambitious open-world game that promises a Minecraft-like experience, has changed hands once again. Simon Collins-Laflamme, the original owner, has reacquired the rights to the project after its cancellation by Riot Games, giving new hope to a community that has been eagerly awaiting the game’s release since its viral trailer in 2018. They confirm that the first impression is not going to be the best. The latest news indicates that Hytale will launch in Early Access on January 13, 2026, for PC. However, Collins-Laflamme has been honest […]

Hytale, the ambitious open-world game that promises a Minecraft-like experience, has changed hands once again. Simon Collins-Laflamme, the original owner, has reacquired the rights to the project after its cancellation by Riot Games, giving new hope to a community that has been eagerly awaiting the game’s release since its viral trailer in 2018.

They confirm that the first impression is not going to be the best

The latest news indicates that Hytale will launch in Early Access on January 13, 2026, for PC. However, Collins-Laflamme has been honest about the state of the game, warning that it is still “incomplete and broken.” In a communication to players, he emphasized that “the first impression will be difficult” and that the current elements of the game are outdated, as the team has decided to revert to a version from four years ago to continue development. Collins-Laflamme stressed that the game “is not good” in its current state, but promised a commitment to turn it into the experience they always wanted to offer.

The developer’s marketing approach has been considered unusual. Instead of encouraging players to pre-order the game, it has emphasized that those who do not feel comfortable doing so should refrain. This honest and transparent approach has been well received, especially since 60 playtesters have given their approval, indicating that while there is progress, there is still a long way to go.

The Collins-Laflamme strategy of keeping expectations low could prove beneficial. By openly acknowledging the current imperfections of the game, an atmosphere of understanding is created among the players. If the initial launch turns out better than expected, the community could welcome it positively. However, time will tell if this bold communication strategy pays off once Hytale is finally available in Early Access.

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The Minecraft-style game from Riot Games is revived, although it is no longer a game from Riot Games

The uncertainty surrounding Hytale has come to an end. Hypixel has acquired the game from Riot Games, ensuring that the project, which had suffered a temporary cancellation, will continue its development. Simon Collins-Laflamme, founder of Hypixel, announced this good news through a statement published on the recently reactivated official website of the video game. Hytale achieves its independence The release of Hytale will take place in early access format, with an incomplete version that will include a sandbox mode, creative mode, and mod support. Although specific details about the release date will be announced in the coming days, […]

The uncertainty surrounding Hytale has come to an end. Hypixel has acquired the game from Riot Games, ensuring that the project, which had suffered a temporary cancellation, will continue its development. Simon Collins-Laflamme, founder of Hypixel, announced this good news through a statement published on the official website of the video game, which has recently been reactivated.

Hytale achieves its independence

The launch of Hytale will take place in early access format, with an incomplete version that will include a sandbox mode, creative mode, and mod support. Although specific details about the release date will be announced in the coming days, it has been indicated that this early access will last for several years, while Hypixel works on building the game alongside the community.

To achieve this goal, the study has rehired 30 developers and has decided to return to the original game engine. This decision comes after, under the direction of Riot Games, the project attempted to transition to a new platform that complicated its development and resulted in years of stagnation. Collins-Laflamme has stated that this new direction will facilitate the focus on creating the game, although it will delay a future console version.

The responsible parties are aware of the risks of launching an incomplete product and have called for community collaboration to help build content, report bugs, and provide feedback. “Without risk, there is no Hytale,” emphasized Collins-Laflamme, who, along with his partner Philippe Touchette, has committed to funding the game’s development for a decade, ensuring that there is no rush to reach the final version.

With Riot Games’ exit from the project, Hytale is entering a new chapter and players can expect a renewed focus on its development. It remains to be seen how these promises will materialize and how the community will react to the early access launch.

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Riot Games has canceled its RPG inspired by Minecraft and the creator of Stardew Valley says he is inspired by it

Riot Games has decided to cancel the development of Hytale, a sandbox RPG inspired by Minecraft, which has sparked intense discussions about the possible resurrection of this project. Originally developed by Hypixel Studios, Hytale seemed to be progressing well until Riot, after five years of development without the expected progress, chose to abandon the project. Eric Barone throws his hat into the ring Simon Collins-Laflamme, founder of Hypixel Studios, has expressed his commitment to exploring the possibilities of reviving Hytale and has been in contact with Riot to discuss the available options. This interest rekindles the conversation about the future […]

Eric Barone throws his hat into the ring

Simon Collins-Laflamme, founder of Hypixel Studios, has expressed his commitment to exploring the possibilities of reviving Hytale and has been in contact with Riot to discuss the available options. This interest rekindles the conversation about the future of the game at a time when the gaming community is enthusiastic about the possibility of a return.

An unexpected twist in this narrative came from Eric Barone, creator of Stardew Valley, who expressed his interest in Hytale through a message on Discord. Although Barone was open to learning more about the project, he clarified that he is not actively working on it, as his main focus is to finish his new game, Haunted Chocolatier. In a recent communication, he emphasized that he is completely absorbed in his upcoming release and that any potential collaboration on Hytale is not a priority on his current agenda.

However, the community has not stopped dreaming of a collaboration between Barone and Collins-Laflamme, even though the latter continues to move forward with his plan to revive Hytale. The situation becomes intriguing, as Barone, although curious, does not want to raise expectations about his involvement, being cautious given the previous development history that ended in cancellation. As time goes by, fans remain on the lookout for any announcement that could breathe new life into this ambitious project.

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