According to Wccftech, Hytale creator Simon “Hypixel” Collins-Laflamme has regained the rights to the Minecraft-like MMO from Riot Games and is resurrecting the project after the studio’s shutdown five months ago. The game will return to its original ‘Legacy’ engine because the new ‘Cross-platform’ engine Riot requested was significantly behind on gameplay features and would have taken at least two years to catch up. Collins-Laflamme has already rehired over thirty developers with more expected to return soon. Early access is likely to launch relatively close to now, though it will be a true early access with crashes, bugs, and broken features expected. The full version 1.0 release is estimated to be “at least a few years” away, and the game currently features over 100 NPCs and thousands of items and blocks, though many aren’t properly configured yet.
The engine drama explained
Here’s the thing about that engine switch – it basically killed the project for months. Riot Games acquired Hypixel back in April 2020 and apparently wanted Hytale to run on a new cross-platform engine from day one. Sounds reasonable, right? But the reality is that game engines are incredibly complex systems, and switching mid-development is like trying to rebuild a plane while it’s flying. The Legacy engine already had years of development behind it, with all the gameplay systems, physics, and content creation tools already working. Starting over on a new engine meant rebuilding everything from scratch. Collins-Laflamme basically looked at the two-year delay and said “nah, we’re going back to what works.” Smart move, honestly.
What early access will actually look like
Now, when they say “true early access,” they really mean it. Adventure Mode won’t be ready at launch. The official minigames that were a huge part of the original vision? Not ready either. So what will you actually get? Basically, the core sandbox experience with modding tools available from day one. The team is being refreshingly honest about the state of the game – expect crashes, broken features, and plenty of jank. But here’s the interesting part: they’re already planning to share server source code within several months, which is huge for modders. Even non-developers will supposedly be able to create impressive experiences with minimal technical knowledge. That level of modding accessibility from the start could be what sets Hytale apart.
Why this matters for the community
This whole situation actually reveals something important about game development today. When a big company like Riot acquires an indie studio, there’s always this tension between corporate priorities and creative vision. The fact that Collins-Laflamme was able to buy the project back suggests Rito recognized they’d made a misstep. And honestly, it’s probably better for everyone this way. The original Hypixel team understands their community better than any corporate overlord ever could. They built one of the most successful Minecraft servers in history, so they know what players actually want. Giving them control over Hytale’s destiny means the game has a much better chance of delivering on its original promise rather than becoming another corporate-sanitized product.
The long road to version 1.0
Let’s be real though – “at least a few years” to reach version 1.0 is a long time in gaming. Games can lose momentum during extended early access periods. Look at what happened with some other ambitious early access titles that took forever to fully release. But Hytale might have an advantage here because of its modding focus. If the community can start building content immediately, that could sustain interest through the development process. The team seems aware of this too – they’ve got a dedicated group that will focus on implementing minigames once the core game is stable. And they’re planning to share all the official minigame assets when they do launch, which is a brilliant way to empower the community. Follow Wccftech on Google for more coverage as this story develops.
