Last week, Riot Games shut down Hypixel Studios and canceled Hytale, a game that has been in development for over seven years. There appears to be a last-minute effort by Hypixel founder Simon Collins-Laflamme to save the game from oblivion.
On social media, a streamer, with the username @TubboLive, suggested that Hytale could be saved if Simon starts a kickstarter right now. Simon asked not to be bullied into buying the game because he was “living a good peaceful life”. However, after @TubboLive persisted that “this community is very passionate about this project,” Simon left a lengthy message that conveyed his thoughts.
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“I get it 100%, look I am even down to put 25 million USD by myself to finish Hytale, that’s how much I believe in it,” he wrote. “No kickstarter, just raw passion, high pressure, and high-risk taking.”
“Reduce scope: legacy engine, pc only first, open source some parts, small team, cut unfinished features to accelerate towards beta. Get players in ASAP to support development. I even already have a dozen of Hytale legacy engine veterans working with me.
“That’s what I would do, but I have not reached out, I’m just thinking about it now because of the bullying haha. This would be a massive challenge and impact all aspects of my life so I would probably need to consult with my family first!”
Simon said he had not seen the game since 2019, and so it was hard to tell if Hytale was something worth saving. Even though reviving the project was possible, he said that the amount that would be needed to purchase the IP would drain the funding for the game.
Another reason he is skeptical about reviving Hytale is that the development team working on the game had expanded to 150 people, while he only had enough money to support a team of 30 for a while.
Can Hytale be rescued with a little less investment?
Two days after the initial discussion, Simon clarified that it was possible to save Hytale without spending so much. However, some sacrifices must be made to the development process.
“To clarify, it would require a LOT less money to get to something that could be released in « Very Early Access » with temporarily removed features,” Simon wrote. “We could just get the community involved ASAP in modding / bug reports / feature requests / crowdfunding and find ways to use Shared Source and Open Source with cash bounties to speed up production and keep team relatively small.”
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However, he warned fans of the project to keep their “expectations extremely low because usually when large companies shut down a project like this, the chances of revival are next to impossible”.
Simon also confirmed that he has decided to give Hytale revival a shot, “Even if it’s 1% chance”. He added that it may take a long while, maybe months, to get answers, and advised fans to give it some time. He promised to share “as much as possible” as he navigates the process.
I’m willing and not afraid to release it in a « bad state » as long as people understand it would be temporary, just to break the curse of release and then work hard for many years to come to achieve the dream
🫡
— Simon (@Simon_Hypixel) June 28, 2025
Are you excited about the slim chance that Hytale may be revived? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.
