Hytale has been on our radar for quite some time now ( a decade, to be precise). However, as of June 23, 2025, we've learned of some unfortunate news regarding what many Minecraft fans anticipated to be one of the best new games on the horizon. Hytale has been officially canceled.
Developed by Hypixel Studios, who, in 2020, was acquired by League of Legends mastermind, Riot Games, the lose of Hytale is a bit of a gut punch. Still, you may be wondering about why it's been canned or what it was that excited so many of us about the upcoming project. That's where we come in. Below, we've gathered all the details about the game that had the makings to be one of the new best co-op games out there.
From its trailer, what its gameplay would have been, to the reason as to why it was canceled, read on to discover the development of Hytale.
What was Hytale?
Hytale was a procedurally-generated sandbox game with many RPG elements, pegged as "a world of adventure and creativity" on the game’s official website.
It looked and played in a similar fashion to Minecraft, complete with mobs and biomes. Yet, Hytale offered a deeper focus on player-led creation, grafting in mod tools and scripting systems to help players customize the game and take it into their own hands upon launch, creating mini-games and making their experience fully custom and unique.
Developer Hypixel Studios is famous for creating the Hypixel Minecraft servers. If you're unfamiliar, the Hypixel servers offer a series of popular mini-games like SkyWars and Crazy Walls and showcase adventure maps. They're an incredibly popular force within the Minecraft community and broke many server milestones, earning the studio Guinness World Records for concurrent players in one instance, as well as many other awards.
It's still extremely popular even today, and out of a desire for control over their runaway success, the studio decided to embark on its own venture, built from the ground up by a team of developers based all over the world. This was in response to EULA measures introduced into Minecraft in the middle of the decade, which came down hard on server monetization and harmed Hypixel's booming economy.
Since starting working on the project, which is built within the studio's own engine, Hytale received funding from Riot Games and a set of games industry veterans.
Why was Hytale canceled?
According to a statement published on the Hytale website, Hytale was canceled due to the fact that it became clear that the team couldn't get the game in "a way that truly delivered on its promise."
The statement went on to cite that the team's technical ambitions grew more complex, and even after a major reboot of the game engine, the game wasn't where it needed to be. The team reportedly looked at adjusting timelines and scope but ultimately decided to cancel the game instead of compromising their vision.
"To our community: thank you. Your belief in Hytale kept us going through thick and thin. Your energy, creativity, and support inspired us to do the best work of our lives. Even though we won't be the ones to bring this game into the world, we still believe in what it stood for and in the incredible potential of this genre."
The post continues, saying: "even though we're closing this chapter, the spirit of Hytale and everything we hoped it could be will stay with us. We're proud of what we built, and we'll carry those lessons forward into whatever comes next."
Hytale gameplay
According to Hytale's website, there would have been a series of "handcrafted adventure scenarios" available at launch, including scenes like "a mage’s tower overrun with monsters,” underground cave exploration, and gigantic boss battles. Hytale claimed that "no two adventures will be the same," suggesting that the procedural nature of the game would have allowed much replayability.
Hytale was aiming to be fully playable in co-op and encourage players to forge their own story, settling into the world in a series of roles depending on their disposition. Warriors, crafters, and explorers are very welcome and would have complement each other in a party. Hytale would have also offered collectible gear that could have been picked up by wiping out the unique creatures lording over the game's many zones. There were also promises of being able to create custom characters, grow crops, raise pets, tame mounts, and build vehicles.
The game was designed to have anti-cheat for its competitive mini-game component, and Hytale was designed with "top performance on a wide range of PCs" in mind. Hypixel promised to offer their own official servers to play the game on, but encouraged players to forge their own communities with the game's shared-source server code.
You can catch the first glimpse of Hytale's gameplay at the bottom of this blog post on the official website. The combat in Hytale is considerably more developed than Minecraft, somewhat evocative of Skyrim's charged and quick attacks. Magic also appeared to feature in the game, as well as functional quests. An Edge Magazine preview revealed that the designers wanted to revolutionize the PvP they had been working on with Minecraft. "We want to take the onus off the 'spam clicking' sort of behavior, and give us a little more depth," content lead Sean McCafferty explains. The same article revealed a few other Hytale features, such as treasure maps, bounty quests, and the fact that there are a number of different weapon families, from war hammers to longswords.
Hytale reveal trailer
You can check out the announcement trailer for Hytale above, which sheds some light on the now-canceled game's universe and art style. The trailer showcases a host of critters, including adorable puppies and cats, as well as a glimpse into the different play styles you could engage with, from solo exploration to crafting and hunting across what looks to be a diverse set of biomes.
The boss battles function like… well…proper boss battles, and the underwater exploration looks gorgeous, a far cry from Minecraft's murky depths. The in-game tomb raiding appeared to be more linear and focused than Minecraft's super-procedural offering, too. One blink and you miss it moment shows off a Theater where players can come together and watch online videos with their friends dressed up as their Hytale avatars - a nice touch!
If you want more blocky goodness, here are some other games like Minecraft to try out.
