In what might be the most lauded video game comeback story of the year, the devs behind this previously cancelled game have announced that it’s not only still coming out, but we’ll be able to play it for ourselves in January next year.
It might sound a little derivative to refer to Hytale as Minecraft meets Skyrim, but I think it’s an incredibly apt way of describing it– and it’s clear that the idea has won the devs a lot of hardcore fans.
However, even if you’ve not had your eye on Hytale since its conception back in 2015, I’d wager that you’ve almost definitely still heard of it.
That’s because the development of this game has been somewhat rocky, to say the least. The game originally started as a custom server in Minecraft, known as Hypixel. Following changes to Minecraft’s EULA (which prohibited specific types of microtransactions), a forty-man team of developers decided to spin the server off into its own, standalone game.
That was back in 2015. Following an initial investment of several million dollars, Riot Games decided to outright purchase the studio in 2020… and then another five years passed.
According to the team behind Hytale, the game essentially ballooned beyond its original scope. Even though it was supposed to be playable in 2021, the team had to keep pushing its release back.
Eventually, Riot Games cancelled the project, likely in a bid to cut their losses. That was in June earlier this year.
News of its cancellation immediately thrust the game back into the public eye. The game clearly still had quite a dedicated following, which is why Hypixel Studios announced that they were attempting to acquire the publishing rights for Hytale from Riot Games.
And then, the good news everyone was waiting for finally came: On November 17, Hypixel Studios announced that the game had been un-cancelled, following negotiations with Riot Games.
Great news, but I think the latest update is arguably far more surprising.
After ten long years of development, Hypixel Studios revealed yesterday that Hytale will be released in early access on January 13, 2026.
Almost seems too hard to believe at this point, but they backed the announcement up with a 27-minute-long gameplay video focusing on its creative mode.
Incredible to think that Hytale, of all things, is actually going to release before Grand Theft Auto VI. Wouldn’t have put that on my 2025 bingo card.
