HYTALE

Another game in which you both mine and craft

- Ian Evenden

Hytale is the game we never thought we'd get to play. The ambitious Minecraft-alike created by former Minecraft modders was canned by Riot Games last year following more than seven years of development, before being bought back and released into Early Access.

The story goes like this: Hytale was unveiled in 2018, by which time it had already been in the works for years. Riot Games, the studio behind League of Legends, acquired the team in 2020. Although the developers initially aimed for a 2021 launch, that target slipped to 2023, and the timeline was delayed yet again the following year. Then it was cancelled.

Hypixel Studios co-founder and at the time CEO, Aaron 'Noxy' Donaghey, announced the project's cancellation in June 2025: “Today, I shared some incredibly tough news with the Hypixel Studios team: we're ending development on Hytale and beginning the process of winding down Hypixel Studios over the next few months,” he wrote, adding that, “This is not the outcome any of us—at Hypixel or at Riot—wanted. But after years of pushing forward, adapting and exploring every possible path, it became clear we couldn't bring Hytale to life in a way that truly delivered on its promise.”

The underlying issue appears to have been the game's ever-expanding scope, as Noxy explained: “Over time, as our vision evolved and the genre matured around us, the bar kept rising. Our technical ambitions grew more complex, and even after a major reboot of the game engine, the team found that Hytale still wasn't as far along as it needed to be. It became clear we'd need a lot more time to get it to a place where it could support the ambitious vision for the game.

“We looked at reducing scope, adjusting timelines, and finding new angles to keep moving forward. But each of those options would have meant compromising on what made