Hytale Explained: A Guide For Minecraft Players

"Not here to compete"

INTRODUCTION

Hytale. 

If you’re a fan of Minecraft, you’ve probably heard of the game by now.

And if you’ve ever seen a video, you might’ve thought it looked like Minecraft on steroids.

WHAT IS IT!?

It’s a sandbox game, like Minecraft and Roblox, being developed by Hypixel Studios, the team behind the Hypixel Minecraft server, the biggest Minecraft server in the world.

They say that their goal wasn’t to make a game that will compete with Minecraft, but to create an environment where players could get past the creative limitations.

"We didn’t make a game to compete with anyone else. We are still the same group that is the Hypixel minigame network and we wanted to overcome the creative limitations we had. We wanted to create an environment where we are solving the problems that we had so that people like us can thrive and express their creativity in the way we always wanted."

DEVELOPMENT TIMELINE

Development on Hytale began in 2015, Riot acquired Hypixel Studios in 2020 and canceled the project in June 2025, before co-founder Simon Collins-Laflamme (with Philippe Touchette) bought it back in November 2025 and revived it as an independent project.

Hytale is now heading into early access on January 13, 2026 on PC, with macOS/Linux support “attempted” after launch.

Early access is mainly there to get the core stuff right. The price is set at around $20 so more players and creators can get in early and provide feedback.

GAMEPLAY

A lot of what we’re used to in Minecraft will be present in Hytale: blocks, building, survival, exploration. But Hytale wants to combine sandbox experience with RPG elements.

You’ll be able to explore a world full of dungeons and a variety of creatures, then shape it block by block.

The world is set on the planet Orbis and split into different zones and regions, each with its own rules for terrain, biomes, and underground areas.

Exploring a cave in one region won’t feel the same as exploring a cave in another

The world is divided into different regions with their own biomes and mobs, and combat is more involved:

• quick and charged attacks,

• blocking,

• timing-based mechanics,

• magic abilities.

It’s much closer to an action RPG than “spam-click with a sword.”

Built-in tools and systems

Hytale offers tools you can use without installing mods or plugins like you usually need in Minecraft.

• built-in world editing (Hytale’s Creative Mode)

• cinematic tools for making trailers and showcases

• scripting and modding support baked into the game

• Hytale Model Maker for creating and animating your own models

  
  

It’s being built with creators in mind: there’s a built-in scripting system, support for custom content, and tools that are meant to plug straight into the game rather than feeling like workarounds.

A lot of the world generation rules are also meant to be customizable, so creators can tweak them, add their own structures, and build their own environments on top of what the game already provides, which we’ll cover in in more detail in another blog.

They also plan to add proximity chat and multiplayer portals that let you move between worlds or servers, all built directly into the game.