Hytale's Miraculous Comeback: How Founders Bought Back Their Game from Riot and Launched in Two Months

In June 2025, a decade of anticipation for millions of players seemed to end not with a bang, but a corporate memo. Riot Games, having acquired Hypixel Studios in 2020, officially canceled the long-awaited sandbox adventure Hytale and began shuttering the studio. The dream, born from a 2018 trailer that captivated 62 million viewers, appeared dead. Yet, just five months later, gaming witnessed one of its most improbable resurrections. The original founders bought their creation back and, in a staggering feat, launched it into Early Access just 60 days later. For co-founder Simon Collins-Laflamme, this white-knuckle ride was worth every moment. “It’s been the most challenging but rewarding experience of my life,” he stated, framing a saga of passion triumphing over corporate calculus.

A Decade of Dreams and Delays: Hytale's Long Road

The story of Hytale is a modern epic of hype and patience. Announced in December 2018 by the independent Hypixel Studios, the game promised a vibrant, procedurally generated world that blended sandbox creation, RPG adventure, and minigame social hubs. Its reveal trailer, amassing those 62 million views, tapped directly into the enduring legacy of Minecraft while promising a more structured, adventure-driven experience. The community’s excitement was palpable and immediate.

Momentum shifted in 2020 when Riot Games, seeking to expand beyond League of Legends, first invested in and then fully acquired Hypixel Studios. The acquisition brought significant resources but also a new strategic direction. Development pivoted to focus on building a robust, new cross-platform C++ engine from the ground up—a move intended to ensure a seamless future on PC, consoles, and mobile. While such a foundational engine overhaul is a monumental, high-risk technical challenge for any project, the extended silence and shifting timelines ultimately eroded the community's patience and, from Riot's perspective, the project's long-term viability. By mid-2025, Riot’s leadership made the decision to cancel the project and begin the studio's wind-down. The game was, for all public intents and purposes, over.

The Rescue Mission: Buying Back a "Barely Playable" Project

As the studio lights dimmed, the original architects of Hytale faced a choice. In November 2025, co-founders Simon Collins-Laflamme and Noxy Thibaulf made a monumental decision. They personally committed to funding the project for a decade and repurchased the full intellectual property rights to Hytale from Riot Games on November 17.

What they received back was not a game on the cusp of release, but a project in crisis. Collins-Laflamme revealed the shocking state of the codebase: the version built on Riot’s new C++ engine was described as “barely playable” and, critically, years behind schedule. The very engine work meant to ensure its future had jeopardized its existence. Faced with this reality, the team made a critical, pragmatic pivot. They abandoned the newer, incomplete engine and turned their attention to reviving and updating an older, more stable “legacy” PC build. This decision to look backward became the key to moving forward at an unprecedented pace.

The Two-Month Miracle: Rebuilding a Team and a Game

With a viable path identified, the next challenge was human. The founders needed to reassemble the talent that understood Hytale’s soul. In a testament to the team’s belief in the original vision, they successfully rehired 30 former developers, reforming the core of Hypixel Studios around the rescued project.

What followed was a development sprint that defies conventional industry wisdom. The team embarked on a herculean effort to make the legacy build not just functional, but ready for public consumption. Collins-Laflamme noted that making such a build playable “within a few weeks” was a process that would normally take years. The team worked around the clock, not only squashing critical bugs but also retrofitting years of designed content and systems back into a stable foundation—a frantic race against a self-imposed deadline. This intense, focused period culminated on January 13, 2026, when Hytale finally launched into Early Access on PC—a mere two months after the founders regained control.

Launch Success and Sustainable Future

The market’s response was immediate and overwhelming. On launch day, Hytale became the most-watched game on Twitch, drawing over 420,000 concurrent viewers as streamers and players dove into its long-promised world. While the game is not on Steam, keeping official player counts private, this viewership metric signaled a massive surge of interest.

More importantly for the studio’s independence, this interest translated directly into sustainability. Collins-Laflamme revealed that even before the Early Access launch, pre-purchases had already generated enough revenue to fund the next two years of development. This financial validation secured the studio’s immediate future. Furthermore, the game’s design DNA, always emphasizing community creation, quickly bore fruit. An “impressive mod community” began producing new content within the first week, and the developers immediately commenced work on post-launch updates, planning a second patch for the following week. The ecosystem was not just alive; it was thriving.

Leadership, Transparency, and "No Regrets"

At the heart of this turnaround is a philosophy of radical transparency and committed leadership. Simon Collins-Laflamme’s reflection—“I have no regrets saving Hytale”—encapsulates the personal risk and profound commitment involved. He credits the “rebuilt Hytale team” for their trust and tireless work in enabling the miracle two-month turnaround.

This honesty extends to the product itself. In a refreshing departure from hyperbolic marketing, Collins-Laflamme has been candid about the Early Access journey ahead, stating plainly, “The game isn’t good yet; eventually, it will be.” This approach fosters a partnership with players, managing expectations while building trust through a shared, transparent development process. This saga stands as a powerful case study in creative ownership, demonstrating that a deeply passionate team, when reunited with its vision, can sometimes chart a more viable path than a distant corporate parent.

Hytale’s journey is a unique parable for modern game development: a viral sensation, absorbed by a giant, declared dead, and then resurrected by the very people who first dreamed it up. Its Early Access launch is not an ending, but a remarkable new beginning. From a canceled project to Twitch’s top trend in a matter of months, Hytale has written a new chapter. Its future development is now one of gaming's most compelling narratives: a testament to what a reunited team, transparent leadership, and direct player support can achieve against the longest of odds.