Long Awaited Minecraft Style MMO Hytale Launches in Early Access and Draws Strong Early Momentum
Hytale, the long gestating Minecraft style MMO from Hypixel Studios, has finally arrived in early access after a high profile revival led by creator Simon Collins Laflamme, who regained the rights after the project’s earlier era under Riot Games. The release is not on Steam at launch, and the game is currently sold directly through the official store although Hypixel has previously indicated that a Steam launch remains a possibility later.
Early access is available in three purchase tiers, each stacking more cosmetics and exclusives for players who want to support the project at a higher level.
| Edition | Price | Included Content |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | $24.39 |
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| Supporter | $42.69 |
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| Cursebreaker | $85.39 |
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Because the game did not launch on Steam, there is no public Steam chart data to quickly benchmark player activity. A rumor circulated that Collins Laflamme had shared a figure of over 2.8 million users in game, but that claim has been largely challenged and widely debunked by the community, with one key reason being that at launch, players could join servers using any name, a loophole that inflated apparent counts and has since been patched
Even without verifiable open data, there are still clear indicators of heavy early demand. On his official X account Collins Laflamme stated the team was seeing a VERY HIGH rate of new Hytale players, which temporarily caused login issues that should now be resolved. He also recently highlighted that pre order sales alone had already funded the studio’s next two years of work, which is a strong signal of market confidence before the full vision is even complete.
The speed of the early access turnaround is also notable. In roughly eight weeks, the team reportedly took a build that was more than four years old, merged hundreds of branches, and stabilized core systems including camera, movement, combat, crafting, building, audio, and rendering, while also addressing thousands of bugs. At the same time, Hypixel is setting expectations clearly: this is true early access, meaning it is unpolished and still missing significant features, content, and refinement.
Hytale’s current early access content centers on three pillars: Exploration Mode, Creative Mode, and Day 1 modding support, with multiplayer available across modes.
Exploration Mode delivers an infinite, procedurally generated world filled with distinct biomes, ancient structures, friendly creatures, and dangerous monsters. Players can explore, build a home base, grow crops, craft equipment, and adventure with friends. The mode also includes the Forgotten Temple, which introduces the first elements of the Cursebreaker story arc that will expand in future updates. Mobility gets a boost through a mantling system designed to make traversal feel more controlled and expressive.
Progression and crafting are unified through expandable inventories and upgradable workbenches that interact with storage, alongside specialized crafting stations supporting hundreds of block and decoration types. A standout feature is the Ancient Gateway, which players can craft and place at home to travel into temporary worlds called Fragments of Orbis. Over time these are expected to evolve into timed adventures ranging from low intensity exploration to difficult combat and loot extraction. There is also a Memories system that lets players collect memories through exploration and interaction with creatures and factions, then deliver them to The Heart of Orbis for permanent world rewards and upgrades. Combat emphasizes mobility, diverse weapons, and unique abilities. Farming is in, with multiple crops and plants that can be converted into food and potions.
Creative Mode focuses on builder flexibility and creator tooling, both in game and through standalone tools. Features include block rotation, previews, connected block textures, and specialized entity tools aimed at more ambitious creator projects.
Modding Support is available on Day 1, with extensive capabilities such as asset pack management, asset editing, and world generation editors. Hypixel is also partnering with Blockbench and CurseForge for Day 1 modding support, positioning Hytale as a platform play from the start rather than just a sandbox.
Hypixel says the upcoming Adventure Mode will push Hytale toward richer narrative content, deeper progression systems, dungeons with boss fights, and more structured experiences. The studio also plans to begin work on official Minigames, plus social features like friends lists and guilds. On the tech and world side, World Gen V2 is a longer term objective, targeting a complete and restored version of Orbis.
Looking ahead, Hytale is also expected to launch on consoles. Hypixel says it is still evaluating the feasibility of a mobile version, which would be a major growth lever if it becomes viable without compromising performance and content parity.
Early access is always a balancing act: the game must be playable enough to retain momentum while also being transparent about what is unfinished. Based on the early surge, the direct sales model, and the immediate emphasis on creator tools and modding, Hytale is clearly aiming to scale into a long tail ecosystem rather than only a one and done release.
Did you jump into this nifty blocky game world yet? Let us know in the comments.
