After more than 10 years of development and one cancellation, Hytale is finally able to play in Early Access.
READ MORE: 14 unmissable games to look forward to in 2026
Hytale is a role-playing game that takes place in a sandbox open-world. “Set out on an adventure built for both creation and play. Explore a procedurally generated world full of dungeons, secrets, and a variety of creatures, then shape it block by block,” reads the official description.
The eagerly anticipated game has just launched in Early Access today (January 13), giving players the chance to check out the “polished” core systems (exploration, responsive combat and robust building) alongside “creator‑first tools for making your own content, crafting minigames and running community servers.”
Hytale is available to play on PC via a dedicated launcher now but isn’t currently on platforms such as Steam.
Ahead of its release, creators revealed that they expected more than a million players to check out the game in its first 24 hours and encouraged gamers to download the dedicated launcher and set up an account to help reduce stress on their servers.
Hytale was first announced back in 2015 as a way for original developers Hypixel to bring together a number of their own Minecraft mini-games. The company was acquired by League Of Legends’ developers Riot Games in 2020 but last June, they scrapped the game.
IMPORTANT
We expect over 1 million players on the early access release day for Hytale (January 13). Please download the launcher today and log in now to help us significantly reduce launch-day stress. Let us know if you are having any issues.
Download now:… pic.twitter.com/kiMYIkKmJI
— Simon (@Simon_Hypixel) January 11, 2026
However a few months later Simon Collins-Laflamme, co-founder of original developers Hypixel, announced he had brought back the rights for the game.
“Real talk: Hytale isn’t some polished AAA release waiting in the wings. It’s messy. It’s janky. And there’s a lot of work to be done,” he said at the time. “My plan? Get it out to you as soon as possible. No more waiting. You’ll get to play it, rough edges and all. It won’t be perfect on day one. My hope is that together, we’ll shape it into something truly special.”
Last week, Collins-Laflamme confirmed that Hytale had been pre-ordered so many times, that he had already earned enough money to fund the next two years of development. “Combined with my personal commitment of ten years, we are looking very strong for the future,” he added.
In other news, Baldur’s Gate 3 composer Borislav Slavov will be returning to soundtrack Larian’s new game, Divinity.
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