The blocky world of Orbis is finally open. After nearly a decade of development hell, a cancellation by Riot Games, and a last-minute revival by its original creators, Hytale launched into Early Access on January 13, 2026.
A week into the release, Hypixel Studios founder Simon Collins-Laflamme issued a candid statement reflecting on the game's "Cinderella story" and the studio's aggressive new direction.
The Road Back from the Brink
The launch is being hailed by the team as a "miracle." Just months ago, the project was essentially dead. Here is how the timeline of the last year unfolded:
June 2025: Riot Games (which bought Hypixel in 2020) officially cancels Hytale after four years were spent re-engineering the engine rather than building gameplay.
November 2025: Collins-Laflamme re-purchases the rights and becomes independent again.
January 13, 2026: Hytale launches in Early Access, built on a salvaged "legacy build" from four years ago.
Collins-Laflamme admitted to feeling "anger" over the time lost under corporate ownership but stated he has "no regrets" about the personal risk he took to save the game.
"It was barely playable. All basics were broken—camera, movement, combat, crafting. Everything was wrong," Collins-Laflamme wrote. "It’s a damn miracle we salvaged it."
Update 1: Dinosaurs and Bedtimes
True to their promise of "shipping things at a rapid pace," Hypixel released Update 1 on January 17, just days after launch. The update signals the studio’s "Gameplay First" mantra:
Underground Jungles: Populated with new Dinosaurs and unique NPCs.
QoL Improvements: You can now sleep starting at 7:30 PM (down from 9:00 PM), and skeletons no longer take drowning damage.
Combat Fixes: Fire-themed creatures are now immune to fire damage, and weapon attacks now properly check for line-of-sight.
Launch Success by the Numbers
Despite the "unpolished" state of the Early Access build, the community response has been overwhelming:
Player Count: The game surged past 1 million players on launch day.
Twitch Hype: Hytale became the most-watched game on Twitch at launch, peaking at over 420,000 viewers.
Financial Health: Pre-purchase revenue has officially secured the next two years of development costs, ensuring the 50-person team has the runway to reach a 1.0 release.
A "No Meetings" Culture
To make up for lost time, Collins-Laflamme revealed a radical internal structure: "no meetings, trust the team." The studio is intentionally "cutting corners" and shipping "V1" features to get immediate player feedback, even if it means dealing with "tech debt" later.
What’s in Early Access Now:
Infinite procedurally generated worlds (Exploration Mode).
Basic Creative Mode and Modding tools.
The "Forgotten Temple" and the start of the Cursebreaker story arc.
What’s Coming Soon:
Official Minigames (Hypixel-style).
Social features like Friends Lists and Proximity Voice Chat.
World Gen V2 (The restored version of Orbis).
Are you among the million players who jumped into Orbis this week, or are you waiting for the game to move past its "rough V1" phase? Let us know in the comments!
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