Hytale

Hytale is an upcoming sandbox role-playing video game by Hypixel Studios. Production began in 2015 by developers from the Minecraft multiplayer server Hypixel with funding and assistance from Riot Games, who later acquired the studio in April 2020. Hytale is planned to be released for Microsoft Windows and macOS by 2021

Gameplay
Hytale features a procedurally-generated fantasy world composed of blocks of numerous shapes arranged in a three-dimensional grid, featuring different randomly generated biomes, creatures, and dungeons. Players can participate in minigames similar to those found on the Hypixel server. Players will be able to build and share mods and custom content using a set of browser-based and in-game tools.

Hytale includes several procedurally-generated areas of the world known as "zones", made up of many biomes, blocks, and mobs. This mode will feature RPG-styled combat for singleplayer and multiplayer and include dynamic boss encounters and dungeon exploration. Hytale will feature block-based construction and includes many different world editing and cinematic tools players can use in-game. It will feature a scripting system that allows players to create and execute code in-game, as well as a web-based 3D modeling, texturing, and animation toolkit where players can create custom assets for the game. The game will feature both official and community-run servers.

Development
Hytale is being developed by studio Hypixel Studios, lead by Aaron Donaghey, for Microsoft Windows and macOS. The Northern Ireland-based studio consists of about forty employees who split off from Hypixel Inc., the company behind the development of the Hypixel server in Minecraft. Development of Hytale started in early 2015. The idea for Hytale arose due to EULA changes by Mojang in 2014 which blocked servers from having microtransactions that affected gameplay, leading to an 85% drop in the Hypixel server's revenue. The developers realized they were not in control of their project and decided to make their own stand-alone game. They originally wanted to avoid making a voxel-based game, but eventually decided to do so as they had experience in that genre from the Hypixel server in Minecraft.

Hypixel Studios was at first self-financed with revenue generated by the Hypixel server. The studio subsequently received support from Riot Games, which invested several million dollars in the studio, along with an advisory group that includes businessmen Dennis Fong, Rob Pardo, and Peter Levine. The game was announced via a trailer in December 2018, with it amassing over 31 million views within a month. In April 2020, Hypixel Studios was fully acquired by Riot Games. The game is expected to be released by 2021.

Reception
Hytale was nominated for "Most Wanted Game" at the 2019 Golden Joystick Awards