Hytale: From Unplayable to Promising – A Development Update

Hytale, the eagerly anticipated blocky sandbox RPG now fully in the hands of its creators, is pushing through significant development hurdles to ensure a solid gaming experience upon release. Simon Collins-Laflamme, co-director of Hytale and founder of Hypixel, shared insights on Twitter regarding the extensive efforts underway to get the game up and running.

“It’s a damn miracle we were able to salvage Hytale,” Collins-Laflamme remarked. “It was barely playable. All basics were broken. Camera, movement, combat, crafting, building, game loop, sounds, rendering. Everything, everything was wrong.” He elaborated that prior to the current phase, Riot Games invested four years into rebuilding Hytale’s engine. Hypixel isn’t relying on that setup, leaving a mountain of issues that need addressing.

“When you don’t invest in gameplay, you don’t just lose time,” he added, stressing the impact of the earlier focus on engine work rather than game mechanics.

According to Collins-Laflamme, Hytale is “coming together at last,” with 60 playtesters recently giving their nod of approval. The journey, though far from over, is gaining momentum. “It’s a long way to go, but momentum is key,” he noted.

Expressing a candid view on the development process, Collins-Laflamme shared, “People ask how I feel about getting Hytale back and getting closer to release. Honestly, the transparent answer is anger. The game has insane potential, but four years were spent on rebuilding the engine rather than focusing on gameplay features.” He highlighted the setbacks in maintaining momentum, iteration, and receiving player feedback.

“Now, the focus has to be on gameplay first and rebuilding trust by actually shipping things at a rapid pace.” Fortunately, the team is making strides, accomplishing in weeks what might have taken months or even years. “It should have taken years to fix, but within weeks, we got the game into a playable, fun state,” he explained. “And now, instead of slowing down or celebrating a release, we must keep pushing for years to recoup the lost time.”

After Riot canceled their work on Hytale in the summer of 2025, Collins-Laflamme announced in November that he had reacquired the game, now set for early access via Hypixel on January 13, 2026. He outlined a straightforward plan for getting a workable version ready. “No meetings, trust the team, push to main and pray,” he stated. “Solid vision, no prototypes. Cutting some corners… we will pay some tech debt later.”

While it has faced its challenges, Hytale is steadily moving towards a promising future. As development continues, many are eager to see how it will stand up in comparison to titans like Minecraft. Collins-Laflamme himself recognizes Minecraft’s influence, saying it’s “one of the greatest games of all time,” but assures that Hytale is carving its own path, with crafting mechanics more akin to those found in Terraria.