Hytale Dev Issues Statement at the launch of the Early Access game

Much anticipated after years of restless development Minecraft– inspired open world RPG Hytal finally launched in early access on January 13, 2026, and developer Hypixel Studios founder Simon Collins-Laflamme “doesn't regret” the “miracle” of the savings Hytal and get it in a condition where it could be released to the fans. Viewers first heard about Hytal when it was originally announced in 2018, but technical and financial issues left the sandbox role-playing game in limbo for many years. After overcoming these challenges and reaching the Early Access release, the team stands Hytal is dedicated to adding more content and improvements to the game and is adamant that it will continue Hytal the best it can be.

When Hytal first teased early in its development, fans of open-world sandbox games love it Minecraft they were excited at the prospect of another stylized world to explore and create their own. Unfortunately, Hytal was hit with a number of obstacles, from a complete overhaul of the game's core engine to numerous gameplay issues that needed to be resolved, with even the basics of movement and camera being “broken” and “barely playable” for the longest time. Hytal and Hypixel Studios were bought outright by Riot Games in 2020, only to be sold back to Collins-Laflamme in 2025 after development went silent and rumors began to circulate that Hytal he was finally laid to rest. Fortunately, Collins-Laflamme and Hypixel were able to get the game playable and fans can now dive into the world Hytal in early access.

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Hytale Early Access Launch is a “miracle”

Hypixel Studios' Simon Collins-Laflamme admitted he felt “anger” at the amount of time lost. Hytalstating that the game has “crazy potential” but was reworked to fit into a different game engine instead of paying attention to gameplay features Hytal. That meant Hytalonce it got back into Hypixel's hands, it had a lot of “catching up” to do to get it in an acceptable state for release to players. According to Collins-Laflamme, the rebuilt game engine will never be used, and the team will instead focus on regaining player trust and building momentum while delivering things “at a rapid pace.” Collins-Laflamme calls it a “miracle.” Hytal has been rescued, but the team has no plans to slow down or celebrate the launch of early access. Instead, Hypixel is turning that “anger” and frustration into “focus and execution” to “deliver the game this vision deserves.”

In response to questions from fans, Collins-Laflamme revealed that the game's rapid progress, including the recent first major update for Hytalwas the result of a “no meeting, trust the team” structure. This includes the Hypixel team building all the “V1” features and then patching updates to make things better later. Collins-Laflamme admits that Hypixel is already “cutting some corners” to try to improve and expand the game as quickly as possible, with “some technical debt” expected to be paid off later. While this may sound alarming, the long-term focus on Hypixel means faster updates attracting more player feedback to ensure adjustments that provide better satisfaction for years to come.

Future Hytal is already looking brighter than before, thanks in large part to Hypixel Studios securing enough funding for the first two years of the game's ongoing development. It remains to be seen how long it will take Collins-Laflamme and the rest of the development team to catch on Hytal where they'd like it to be, but the quick turnaround from regaining the rights to the game to putting it in early access and even launching an initial content update seems to indicate that there's still a lot more in the works Hytal.