Hytale Returns: Creator Reacquires Rights, Restores Original Engine, and Prepares Early Access Launch
Five months after the surprising shutdown of Hypixel Studios and the presumed end of Hytale, the ambitious Minecraft‐like MMO has been officially revived. Simon “Hypixel” Collins-Laflamme, the original creator, has announced that he has regained full rights to the project from Riot Games, effectively resurrecting the long awaited title and setting it on a new yet familiar development course.
The announcement was delivered through an update on the official Hytale website, where Collins-Laflamme explained the reasoning behind the revival and the significant changes to the project’s direction. According to the update, Hytale will abandon the experimental cross-platform engine mandated by Riot Games and return to its original “Legacy” engine, which had already reached a far more advanced gameplay state.
Collins-Laflamme clarified that the cross-platform engine was at least two years behind the Legacy engine in terms of gameplay features and stability. Continuing development on the new engine would have delayed meaningful progress, so the team chose to revert to the original technology with a long term plan to make it cross-platform compatible in the future.
Following the reacquisition of the project, Collins-Laflamme has already rehired more than thirty former Hypixel developers, with more expected to rejoin in the coming months. Early access is planned to begin soon, with the date to be announced in the near future. He cautioned that the early access launch will be a true early access experience, including bugs, crashes, and incomplete features. Reaching version 1.0 is expected to take “at least a few years.”
Despite its early state, Hytale already includes over one hundred NPCs and thousands of items and blocks. However, many of these assets are not yet fully configured or integrated into gameplay systems. Major components of the original design, such as the Adventure Mode and the Hypixel inspired official minigames, will not be available at launch. The team emphasized that these features remain core to the vision, but they require more foundational work. Once the game’s core systems stabilize, a dedicated team will focus exclusively on completing and releasing these official modes.
In the meantime, community creativity is expected to play a major role. Players will have the ability to create their own custom minigames, servers, and gameplay experiences from day one. When the official minigames eventually release, the development team intends to share their assets, enabling modders to build their own variants and expand the ecosystem.
Modding is at the heart of Hytale’s renewed direction. Collins-Laflamme stated that virtually everything in the game can be modified, both on the client side and server side, and even those without technical backgrounds will be able to create meaningful content. The team is committed to providing broad support for creators, including plans to make server source code accessible within several months of early access. This will empower players to develop fully custom servers, world types, adventures, and community driven experiences.
The revival of Hytale marks a dramatic and unexpected shift for a project many believed was finished. With its creator back at the helm, original tools restored, and a community focused development roadmap ahead, the long anticipated MMO appears ready to begin its next chapter.
Are you excited to see Hytale return under its original leadership? What features are you hoping to see first in early access? Share your thoughts with us below.
