Hytale

Hytale was a planned sandbox game by Hypixel Studios. Development began in 2015 by developers from the Minecraft multiplayer server Hypixel with funding from Riot Games. Riot would purchase the studio outright in 2020. It was originally planned for release on Windows and macOS. The game was canceled in June 2025.

Hytale
Developer(s)	Hypixel Studios
Publisher(s)	Riot Games
Director(s)	Aaron Donaghey
Platform(s)	Windows macOS
Release	Canceled
Genre(s)	Sandbox
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Gameplay

Hytale was to feature a fantasy world composed of procedurally-generated blocks of numerous shapes arranged in a three-dimensional grid, featuring different biomes, creatures, and dungeons.^[1] Players would have been able to participate in minigames similar to those found on the Hypixel server and able to build and share mods and custom content using a set of browser-based and in-game tools.^[2][3]

Hytale would have featured several procedurally-generated areas of the world known as "zones" made up of many biomes and mobs.^[4] This mode was planned to have RPG-styled combat with dungeon exploration and dynamic boss encounters. Hytale would have featured block-based construction and include many different world editing and cinematic tools players can use in-game.^[4] It was also planned to feature a scripting system that would allow players to write code in-game, as well as a modeling and animation toolkit based on CraftStudio which would be used to create custom assets.^[2] The game was planned to feature both official and community-run servers.^[2]

Development

Development of Hytale began in early 2015.^[5] The game was being developed by Hypixel Studios for PC, consoles, and mobile devices.^[1][6][7] The client was initially developed in C# with the server technology in Java,^[8] but both the client and server were rewritten in C++ in 2022.^[9] The game was being directed by Aaron Donaghey of Hypixel Studios, a indie game based in Northern Ireland of over forty employees who split off from Hypixel Inc., the company behind the Hypixel server in Minecraft.^[10][11][12] The idea for Hytale arose due to EULA changes by Mojang in 2014 which blocked servers from having microtransactions that affected gameplay, leading to an 85% drop in the Hypixel server's revenue.^[1][13][14] They originally wanted to avoid making a voxel-based game, but eventually decided to do so as they had experience in that genre from the Hypixel server in Minecraft.^[1]

Hypixel Studios was at first self-financed with revenue generated by the Hypixel server. The studio subsequently received support from Riot Games, which invested several million dollars in the studio,^{[15][16][17][18]} along with an advisory group that included businessmen Dennis Fong, Rob Pardo, and Peter Levine.^[15] The studio was fully acquired by Riot Games in April 2020.^[19] Hytale was announced in December 2018, with the trailer amassing over 31 million views within a month.^[20]

The game, originally intended to be playable in 2021, was delayed several times due to the game's scope increasing.^[9][21] In July 2024, Hytale's developers reported that the game was being migrated to a new engine, a process that was expected to be complete by the end of the year.^[22] On June 23, 2025, after over 10 years of development, Donaghey announced its cancellation and closure of Hypixel Studios, citing its overly ambitious nature and lack of remaining investment.^[5][23] Hypixel's founder, Simon, who originally sold the studio to Riot Games, indicated a willingness to try and save the game, willing to invest up to 25 million dollars.^[24]

Reception

Hytale was nominated in the Most Wanted Game category at the 2019 Golden Joystick Awards but lost to Cyberpunk 2077.^[25] The game was also named the most anticipated at the 2021 Northern Ireland Game Awards.^[26] In 2022, Hytale was recognized as the "Best Upcoming Game" at the Indie Game Awards.^[27]