Hytale was cancelled by Riot Games in June 2025, then bought back by its co-founder five months later and released in early access on 13 January 2026. It is playable today on PC for about $20. Chapter I, its first major content expansion, arrived on 12 October 2026.
Was Hytale Cancelled or Not?
Both things are true: it was cancelled in June 2025, revived that November, and it is a working game you can buy now.
Riot Games ended development on 23 June 2025 and began closing the studio behind it. Five months later one of that studio’s co-founders bought the game back, and it has been on sale and in active development since January 2026.
That gap explains why searches still return pages announcing the game’s death. Guides written between June and November 2025 state flatly that Hytale has no release path, and several were still online in late 2026, long after players were running it.
Why Riot Games Cancelled It
The studio said the game had grown too ambitious to finish.
Hypixel Studios announced Hytale in December 2018, and Riot Games, which had led a multi-million-dollar investment that year, bought the studio outright in 2020. Development then ran roughly seven years with no public release, including a reboot of the game’s engine.
Announcing the end on 23 June 2025, chief executive Aaron “Noxy” Donaghey said it had “become clear we couldn’t bring Hytale to life in a way that truly delivered on its promise”, and that even after the major engine reboot the team “found that Hytale still wasn’t as far along as it needed to be”. Development stopped at once. Donaghey said Riot had offered the staff generous severance and was helping them find new jobs, and he did not fault the company.
How the Co-Founder Bought It Back
Simon Collins-Laflamme, a co-founder of Hypixel, reacquired Hytale from Riot Games and announced the deal on 17 November 2025.
He had confirmed in August 2025 that he was negotiating for the rights. Once the purchase went through he rebuilt Hypixel Studios as an independent, self-funded company and rehired more than 30 of the developers who had lost their jobs.
Early access opened on 13 January 2026, under seven months after the cancellation and a little under two months after the buyback was announced.
What Early Access Costs and Where to Get It
The entry edition is priced at about $20, and the game runs on Windows, macOS and Linux.
Hytale is not sold on Steam. It is distributed through the official Hytale launcher, downloaded from the game’s own website, and that was still the only route in late 2026.
The opening day drew a crowd. Hytale became the most-watched game on Twitch on 13 January 2026, with launch-day reports putting the peak above 420,000 concurrent viewers, though some tracking sites recorded a higher figure.
Player totals are shakier than they look. Counts of a million or more were repeated widely, but the number started as a launch-day prediction from Collins-Laflamme, and Hypixel Studios has not released official player figures or explained what the circulating totals are supposed to measure.
What Has Been Added Since Launch?
Two additions matter most: a source-code programme for modders in June 2026, and the Chapter I expansion in October 2026.
Hytale Shared Source, announced in June 2026, gives licensed players the game’s server source code, network protocol and assets through GitHub. The studio modelled the scheme on the way Epic Games releases Unreal Engine source code.
Chapter I: Out of the Breach arrived on 12 October 2026 as the seventh update since launch. It added a reworked goblin faction and temporary Goblin Breach portals, a biome called The Guttering Hollows, and the game’s first handcrafted dungeon, which ends in a fight the studio calls “Hytale’s first major, multi-phase boss fight”.
The same update brought 15 Runestones, which the studio describes as “only the introduction” to a new ability system, along with seven tools and gadgets, more than 20 new or reimagined non-player characters, over 100 cosmetic options, two minigames, and French and Spanish language support.
Is Hytale Finished?
No. As of 14 November 2026 it remains an early access game, and no release date for a finished version has been announced.
Chapter I is still the most recent full update, and the studio has neither named nor dated the next one. Hypixel Studios has also decided against publishing a conventional roadmap, saying earlier in 2026 that it would move towards larger and more bespoke updates rather than commit to a public schedule.
So anyone buying now is buying an unfinished game that is being added to, which is at least the better end of the outcomes available. The alternative is what happened to PUBG Black Budget, which Krafton cancelled before it ever went on sale.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hytale Still Cancelled?
No. The cancellation lasted from 23 June 2025 until 17 November 2025, when a co-founder bought the game back from Riot Games.
Who Owns Hytale Now?
Hypixel Studios, rebuilt as an independent and self-funded company after Simon Collins-Laflamme reacquired the game. Riot Games no longer has any stake in it.
Is Hytale on Steam?
No. The only official way to play is the Hytale launcher from the game’s own website.
Does Hytale Have a Full Release Date?
No date has been announced. The studio has not committed to a public schedule, and Chapter I of the early access version was the latest major release as of 14 November 2026.
