Been pretty hyped for this game since its reveal, partially because I think we need a good Minecraft competitior but also because I detest some of the anti-consumer bullshit Microsoft have pulled...
Been pretty hyped for this game since its reveal, partially because I think we need a good Minecraft competitior but also because I detest some of the anti-consumer bullshit Microsoft have pulled in the last few years.
Really glad that Simon managed to acquire the rights to Hytale back from Riot. What Riot did to Hypixel was the equivalent of Microsoft deciding to indefinitely stall the development of Java Edition and force their devs to work on Bedrock Edition.
True, but they also poured literally hundreds of millions of dollars into studio of amateur talent and gave them so many years to produce a product. They got so much more runway than they would...
What Riot did to Hypixel was the equivalent of Microsoft deciding to indefinitely stall the development of Java Edition and force their devs to work on Bedrock Edition.
True, but they also poured literally hundreds of millions of dollars into studio of amateur talent and gave them so many years to produce a product. They got so much more runway than they would have independently and are starting this new chapter with a much better foundation because of it. Riot mismanaged Hypixel, (or more likely the management from Hypixel mismanaged themselves because of a lack of experience working on a game of this scale) but it wasn't really the equivalent of what Microsoft has inflicted upon Minecraft.
Edit: Also, are we sure that Riot was behind the decision to develop a new engine? I couldn't find any concrete source on that information. It seems like it may have been an internal decision from their own leadership, from what I've heard Riot was extremely hands off with Hypixel.
I also lost my account that way and would love to join a class action, but giving all my personal information in a google form from some random youtuber? Eh... And seems it's only for residents of...
I also lost my account that way and would love to join a class action, but giving all my personal information in a google form from some random youtuber? Eh...
I don't disagree with Microsoft's practices being awful, but I don't know about rooting for Hypixel as a competitor if that's your worry... they're selling $45 ranks to kids for in-game...
I don't disagree with Microsoft's practices being awful, but I don't know about rooting for Hypixel as a competitor if that's your worry... they're selling $45 ranks to kids for in-game advantages, alongside other micro-transactions. Minecraft servers don't get that big without being skinner boxes of some sort.
I was really looking forward to Hytale when it was first announced way back in 2018, so subsequently hearing that it got acquired by Riot in 2020 had me nervous... and when the game got cancelled...
I was really looking forward to Hytale when it was first announced way back in 2018, so subsequently hearing that it got acquired by Riot in 2020 had me nervous... and when the game got cancelled and the studio was shut down in 2025 that left me extremely disappointed (but not surprised, TBH). This news did surprise the hell out of me though! Pretty cool they're hiring a good portion of the original dev team back too. Here's hoping they manage to finally get this game off the ground so we can finally play it. Minecraft has needed a proper, modern competitor with actually compelling combat for quite some time, IMO.
Oh man, finally a ~games post I actually have something to comment on. :P Of the maybe three video games I’ve played with real progression and content (replayability value), one is Hypixel’s...
Oh man, finally a ~games post I actually have something to comment on. :P
Of the maybe three video games I’ve played with real progression and content (replayability value), one is Hypixel’s Skyblock – the MMORPG inside their server within Minecraft – which I’ve sunk, ahem, more than a few hours into in the past. (Hypixel is the studio behind both Skyblock and the now-cancelled Hytale; Simon, the post intro’s author, co-founded both.)
Skyblock’s community has been complaining about staleness for years. The game launched in 2019, then went from 2022 to I believe mid-2025 without a truly major content update. During that drought, i.e. before Hytale was officially axed, many speculated players would migrate to Hytale on release, maybe even quit Skyblock outright. Then the 2020s “Minecraft renaissance” hit, and both vanilla Minecraft and Hypixel’s mini- and persistent games stayed surprisingly healthy from what I can tell. It will be interesting to see what sub-games they implement on the Hytale “platform”, if you view the game as merely the starting point, just like with Minecraft modding and custom server gamemodes.
Oh and while I’ve never played Wynncraft, that’s another standalone MMORPG running inside Minecraft. It’s always been smaller than Skyblock; as of writing this (just checkedboth) Skyblock has ≈13 times its concurrent players, and Hypixel as a whole has ≈25x. This also means Skyblock is the server’s biggest mode, so its ups and downs probably directly affect Hypixel’s future (and maybe Hypixel Studios’ too), though the announcement post claims their funding is secured.
In any case, good for them if they’re able to finance it and ship that game at last, though.
So, as someone who'd never heard of this before, can you tell me if I have this right: Hytale is essentially a fantasy-focused Minecraft-like MMORPG that started out as a mod/server within...
So, as someone who'd never heard of this before, can you tell me if I have this right:
Hytale is essentially a fantasy-focused Minecraft-like MMORPG that started out as a mod/server within Minecraft before the people behind it decided to make their own game, which got bought by Riot, then canceled, then got bought back by the original devs and is now being released after all?
Pretty much…, I think. I’m not sure whether it was ever “officially” meant to be the Skyblock successor, or if the ideas developed independently from another soon after the gamemode’s launch, but...
Pretty much…, I think.
I’m not sure whether it was ever “officially” meant to be the Skyblock successor, or if the ideas developed independently from another soon after the gamemode’s launch, but I am sure a big part of Hypixel’s motivation for Hytale was in fact to crawl free from Mojang/Microsoft’s rule, which for example limits their monetization, namely by disallowing third-party Minecraft servers from offering pay-to-win mechanics.
is now being released
*In an unfinished state with perhaps ten years to go. ;)
I haven't tried Hypixel's Skyblock, but I did play the original skyblock map back in 2011. I remember the year, because a friend confused it with the soon-to-be-released Skyrim, which led to some...
I haven't tried Hypixel's Skyblock, but I did play the original skyblock map back in 2011. I remember the year, because a friend confused it with the soon-to-be-released Skyrim, which led to some laughs.
It was one of the first "puzzle maps" I'd seen for Minecraft, with a focus on mechanics rather than building. There's now a bunch of modded skyblock-esque modpacks out there, but I feel the puzzle elements are mostly gone today.
I liked that map too, while the basic version has its charm, especially some of its later updates where you could actually progress through more of the game were pretty cool! That said, do not be...
I liked that map too, while the basic version has its charm, especially some of its later updates where you could actually progress through more of the game were pretty cool!
That said, do not be fooled: Hypixel Skyblock shares just about nothing with the original map outside of the name. I’m not joking, except for maybe a modicum of the starter/personal island, it is a comparison of wheat grain, scratch that, molecule to finished baguette.
Edit: To illustrate, this is fairly representative gameplay near the top level for one of about a half-dozen major activity categories that exist (although the catacombs/dungeons are probably the most involved by far).
Edit 2: Come to think of it, I urge everyone curious here in the thread to watch the video (or some other Skyblock gameplay) to set your expectations for Hytale down the road right. “Vanilla Minecraft clone” is one thing, but they’re aiming to shoot much, much higher. Imagine what they’ll be able to do in a bespoke game and game engine when they made a Minecraft server do that and cultivated a community of highly enthusiastic and skilled players and modders on top of it.
I hate how they basically killed Warlords on hypixel. It was my favourite game there; I invested SO much time in it and was a pretty high level aquamancer, and could more or less carry my entire...
I hate how they basically killed Warlords on hypixel.
It was my favourite game there; I invested SO much time in it and was a pretty high level aquamancer, and could more or less carry my entire team in CTF games... But then, they stopped updating the game altogether. It's not received an update in over 10 years. And now it's completely dead. Last time I checked, there wasn't even anyone in the lobby anymore...
It's always fucking impossible to Hypixel Skyblock to people. "Oh, yeah, it's like an MMO but in Minecraft. And you can do all the Minecraft building and stuff, but only on your island. No, it's...
It's always fucking impossible to Hypixel Skyblock to people. "Oh, yeah, it's like an MMO but in Minecraft. And you can do all the Minecraft building and stuff, but only on your island. No, it's not a mod, it's a server." But It's the only MMORPG I've ever seriously played. I don't know how many hundreds of hours I spent on my island farming potatoes and sugar cane (I played during the hiatus, before the garden update) or in the dwarven mines gem hunting. I've played a bit of Wynncraft too, but It's my understanding that Skyblock is more like OSRS while Wynncraft is more like WOW. I think Skyblock is a genuinely interesting game, the way it's total self-directed ness when it came to skilling, collections, content blends with Minecraft's own sandbox feels really unique. Every Minecraft system from fishing to enchanting to building was updated to bring it in line with MMO genre conventions, without losing the quintessential "Minecraft" feel. And even if I'm not going anywhere near that rabbit hole ever again I'm interested to see what comes of Hytale. I think the Hypixel team have regularly acquitted themselves as game designers.
Honestly, I'm less bewildered about that being a thing in Minecraft. I'm bewildered that they made Skyblock of all gamemodes into an MMO. Like, why?
"Oh, yeah, it's like an MMO but in Minecraft. And you can do all the Minecraft building and stuff, but only on your island. No, it's not a mod, it's a server."
Honestly, I'm less bewildered about that being a thing in Minecraft. I'm bewildered that they made Skyblock of all gamemodes into an MMO. Like, why?
Speculation, but honestly it feels kind of like when an entertainment company slaps the name of a popular IP onto a largely unrelated property just to sell copies -- like with Arkane's 2017 im-sim...
Speculation, but honestly it feels kind of like when an entertainment company slaps the name of a popular IP onto a largely unrelated property just to sell copies -- like with Arkane's 2017 im-sim Prey, or like how the Callisto Protocol was supposed to be set in the world of PUBG somehow. The Skyblock thing is a hook primarily -- and there is still the Skyblock gameplay of building out a small personal island into a big base, it's just, the resource gathering process, and the core progression model, is very different.
One surprising benefit of the Skyblock format is technical. Hypixel Skyblock's shared spaces are island chains in the sky; there's a main hub island, several mining islands with different tiers of resources, a forest island for woodcutting, Nether and End islands for combat and bossing. You travel between islands with seamless player launchers. But actually, each island is also a separate instance. When you step on the slime blocks to get sent flying from the main central island to the Farm, during the flight, you're secretly also getting moved into the Farm server, of which there are several copies to support any surges in player population. Minecraft servers aren't very good, they can't actually handle an MMO number of players usually. But the separate islands concept provides a useful framework for playerbase segmentation that still feels natural and seamless while you're playing.
Been pretty hyped for this game since its reveal, partially because I think we need a good Minecraft competitior but also because I detest some of the anti-consumer bullshit Microsoft have pulled in the last few years.
I lost a Minecraft alpha account which I've had since late 2010 thanks to me missing the forced account migration window (and decided to register for a class action lawsuit organized by SalC1 and other YouTubers off the back of that.) More recently Mojang have threatened to blacklist community-run Minecraft servers like MinecraftOnline unless they abide by their very strict community partner guidelines and mass-censor speech on their server and Discord channels, despite these servers being 100% community-run, and having no financial backing or affiliation with Mojang.
Really glad that Simon managed to acquire the rights to Hytale back from Riot. What Riot did to Hypixel was the equivalent of Microsoft deciding to indefinitely stall the development of Java Edition and force their devs to work on Bedrock Edition.
True, but they also poured literally hundreds of millions of dollars into studio of amateur talent and gave them so many years to produce a product. They got so much more runway than they would have independently and are starting this new chapter with a much better foundation because of it. Riot mismanaged Hypixel, (or more likely the management from Hypixel mismanaged themselves because of a lack of experience working on a game of this scale) but it wasn't really the equivalent of what Microsoft has inflicted upon Minecraft.
Edit: Also, are we sure that Riot was behind the decision to develop a new engine? I couldn't find any concrete source on that information. It seems like it may have been an internal decision from their own leadership, from what I've heard Riot was extremely hands off with Hypixel.
I also lost my account that way and would love to join a class action, but giving all my personal information in a google form from some random youtuber? Eh...
And seems it's only for residents of Sweden?
I also lost my account, couldn't believe that was possible in this day and age. It was a 2010 account too, so that was a lot of history to lose :(
I don't disagree with Microsoft's practices being awful, but I don't know about rooting for Hypixel as a competitor if that's your worry... they're selling $45 ranks to kids for in-game advantages, alongside other micro-transactions. Minecraft servers don't get that big without being skinner boxes of some sort.
Aren't ranks purely cosmetic since the EULA changes of the mid-2010s?
Are they ? If so, bit more respectable ; I didn't see anything about this on the Hypixel fandom wiki but it could be wrong.
I was really looking forward to Hytale when it was first announced way back in 2018, so subsequently hearing that it got acquired by Riot in 2020 had me nervous... and when the game got cancelled and the studio was shut down in 2025 that left me extremely disappointed (but not surprised, TBH). This news did surprise the hell out of me though! Pretty cool they're hiring a good portion of the original dev team back too. Here's hoping they manage to finally get this game off the ground so we can finally play it. Minecraft has needed a proper, modern competitor with actually compelling combat for quite some time, IMO.
Oh dang that's nice! I remember being very excited when it was first announced
Oh man, finally a ~games post I actually have something to comment on. :P
Of the maybe three video games I’ve played with real progression and content (replayability value), one is Hypixel’s Skyblock – the MMORPG inside their server within Minecraft – which I’ve sunk, ahem, more than a few hours into in the past. (Hypixel is the studio behind both Skyblock and the now-cancelled Hytale; Simon, the post intro’s author, co-founded both.)
Skyblock’s community has been complaining about staleness for years. The game launched in 2019, then went from 2022 to I believe mid-2025 without a truly major content update. During that drought, i.e. before Hytale was officially axed, many speculated players would migrate to Hytale on release, maybe even quit Skyblock outright. Then the 2020s “Minecraft renaissance” hit, and both vanilla Minecraft and Hypixel’s mini- and persistent games stayed surprisingly healthy from what I can tell. It will be interesting to see what sub-games they implement on the Hytale “platform”, if you view the game as merely the starting point, just like with Minecraft modding and custom server gamemodes.
Oh and while I’ve never played Wynncraft, that’s another standalone MMORPG running inside Minecraft. It’s always been smaller than Skyblock; as of writing this (just checked both) Skyblock has ≈13 times its concurrent players, and Hypixel as a whole has ≈25x. This also means Skyblock is the server’s biggest mode, so its ups and downs probably directly affect Hypixel’s future (and maybe Hypixel Studios’ too), though the announcement post claims their funding is secured.
In any case, good for them if they’re able to finance it and ship that game at last, though.
Edit: rewrote comment for clarity
So, as someone who'd never heard of this before, can you tell me if I have this right:
Hytale is essentially a fantasy-focused Minecraft-like MMORPG that started out as a mod/server within Minecraft before the people behind it decided to make their own game, which got bought by Riot, then canceled, then got bought back by the original devs and is now being released after all?
Pretty much…, I think.
I’m not sure whether it was ever “officially” meant to be the Skyblock successor, or if the ideas developed independently from another soon after the gamemode’s launch, but I am sure a big part of Hypixel’s motivation for Hytale was in fact to crawl free from Mojang/Microsoft’s rule, which for example limits their monetization, namely by disallowing third-party Minecraft servers from offering pay-to-win mechanics.
*In an unfinished state with perhaps ten years to go. ;)
I haven't tried Hypixel's Skyblock, but I did play the original skyblock map back in 2011. I remember the year, because a friend confused it with the soon-to-be-released Skyrim, which led to some laughs.
It was one of the first "puzzle maps" I'd seen for Minecraft, with a focus on mechanics rather than building. There's now a bunch of modded skyblock-esque modpacks out there, but I feel the puzzle elements are mostly gone today.
I liked that map too, while the basic version has its charm, especially some of its later updates where you could actually progress through more of the game were pretty cool!
That said, do not be fooled: Hypixel Skyblock shares just about nothing with the original map outside of the name. I’m not joking, except for maybe a modicum of the starter/personal island, it is a comparison of wheat grain, scratch that, molecule to finished baguette.
Edit: To illustrate, this is fairly representative gameplay near the top level for one of about a half-dozen major activity categories that exist (although the catacombs/dungeons are probably the most involved by far).
Edit 2: Come to think of it, I urge everyone curious here in the thread to watch the video (or some other Skyblock gameplay) to set your expectations for Hytale down the road right. “Vanilla Minecraft clone” is one thing, but they’re aiming to shoot much, much higher. Imagine what they’ll be able to do in a bespoke game and game engine when they made a Minecraft server do that and cultivated a community of highly enthusiastic and skilled players and modders on top of it.
I hate how they basically killed Warlords on hypixel.
It was my favourite game there; I invested SO much time in it and was a pretty high level aquamancer, and could more or less carry my entire team in CTF games... But then, they stopped updating the game altogether. It's not received an update in over 10 years. And now it's completely dead. Last time I checked, there wasn't even anyone in the lobby anymore...
It's always fucking impossible to Hypixel Skyblock to people. "Oh, yeah, it's like an MMO but in Minecraft. And you can do all the Minecraft building and stuff, but only on your island. No, it's not a mod, it's a server." But It's the only MMORPG I've ever seriously played. I don't know how many hundreds of hours I spent on my island farming potatoes and sugar cane (I played during the hiatus, before the garden update) or in the dwarven mines gem hunting. I've played a bit of Wynncraft too, but It's my understanding that Skyblock is more like OSRS while Wynncraft is more like WOW. I think Skyblock is a genuinely interesting game, the way it's total self-directed ness when it came to skilling, collections, content blends with Minecraft's own sandbox feels really unique. Every Minecraft system from fishing to enchanting to building was updated to bring it in line with MMO genre conventions, without losing the quintessential "Minecraft" feel. And even if I'm not going anywhere near that rabbit hole ever again I'm interested to see what comes of Hytale. I think the Hypixel team have regularly acquitted themselves as game designers.
Honestly, I'm less bewildered about that being a thing in Minecraft. I'm bewildered that they made Skyblock of all gamemodes into an MMO. Like, why?
Speculation, but honestly it feels kind of like when an entertainment company slaps the name of a popular IP onto a largely unrelated property just to sell copies -- like with Arkane's 2017 im-sim Prey, or like how the Callisto Protocol was supposed to be set in the world of PUBG somehow. The Skyblock thing is a hook primarily -- and there is still the Skyblock gameplay of building out a small personal island into a big base, it's just, the resource gathering process, and the core progression model, is very different.
One surprising benefit of the Skyblock format is technical. Hypixel Skyblock's shared spaces are island chains in the sky; there's a main hub island, several mining islands with different tiers of resources, a forest island for woodcutting, Nether and End islands for combat and bossing. You travel between islands with seamless player launchers. But actually, each island is also a separate instance. When you step on the slime blocks to get sent flying from the main central island to the Farm, during the flight, you're secretly also getting moved into the Farm server, of which there are several copies to support any surges in player population. Minecraft servers aren't very good, they can't actually handle an MMO number of players usually. But the separate islands concept provides a useful framework for playerbase segmentation that still feels natural and seamless while you're playing.