Fireicemaster

[Geoff Keighley @geoffkeighley]

What a week for video games!

[Slamma @Slammaaa]

After 5 years, Hytale Lofi has a sequel! Up on my channel now!!! GO LISTEN AND WATCH!!

Beautiful art with tons of community easter eggs by @CrimzonKrow

Editing by @_Hawkon

Thank you to everyone for all the support and thank you @Simon_Hypixel for saving Hytale 💜🎧

[Simon @Simon_Hypixel]

I want to explain clearly why we’re pushing modding so hard in Hytale.

It’s not because we expect modders to carry the game for us. It’s because I believe the modding community is going to be one of the foundations for where we take Hytale next.

This contest is part of that. I want to put modders front and center. I want people making incredible worlds, NPCs, systems, and experiences to be recognized, celebrated, and rewarded. Think esports, but for modders.

There’s another reason I care so much about this: we hire from the community.

Over the last few months, most of the people we’ve brought onto the team (now over 70) have been people we already knew, respected, and saw building amazing things, especially in the modding community. We’re not trying to build some giant corporate machine with layers of people giving orders. We’re building a scrappy, agile team full of people who actually make things.

That matters to me a lot. Everyone here is expected to touch the game. Even people in leadership. Even me. I pushed a small visual fix myself yesterday. I’m in the game constantly, and if I see something wrong, I either fix it or make sure it gets worked on. That’s the culture I want around Hytale: close to the work, close to the game, close to the community.

On a personal level, I care about this because I genuinely love making games. Getting Hytale back lit that fire in me again. It’s stressful, sure, but it’s good stress. The kind that comes from building something you believe in.

The truth is that building for modding makes development harder. A feature that would be simple in another game often becomes much more complex for us because we have to ask: how can creators use this too? How do we expose it in the right way? How do we make sure it becomes a building block, not just a one-off feature?

That work costs us time in the short term. I know that.

But I believe it pays off in a big way later, because every good system we build can become a hundred great creations from the community.

And when someone in the community makes something exceptional, that creates a real bridge. Maybe we can collaborate. Maybe we can learn from it. Maybe we hire them. If somebody makes an incredible fishing mod before we’ve even tackled fishing ourselves, I don’t see that as a threat. I see talent. I see proof that the ecosystem is working.

That’s why I’m pushing for this so hard.

Not because modding replaces the studio, but because it makes the game bigger than the studio. It helps us discover talent. It helps us build better in the long run. It keeps us connected to the people who care the most.

If we do this right, modding won’t just be a feature of Hytale. It will be one of the strongest foundations for its future.

This is just the beginning. We are still in early access.

[tobyfox @tobyfox]

Super excited this is finally announced. Can't wait for you guys to see what we have in store for you this time.

[Simon @Simon_Hypixel]

I want to take a moment to talk about where the game is right now, and where it is going!

First, we should not compare Hytale today to what it currently offers versus where we expect it to be in the long term. What you're playing right now is just the start of our long journey, and pretty much all aspects of the game need major work. A few months ago, I said the game wasn't good enough, and I still mean it.

I'm incredibly grateful for the game's success right now, and for how many of you see its potential. Honestly, I did not expect such a positive reaction across the board. That support is real, and it matters. But we need to stay disciplined and focused. The real danger at this stage would be to chase short-term satisfaction and lose sight of the long-term health of the game.

We could very easily add more progression systems for the sake of progression. More loot, dungeons, boss fights, talent trees, new weapons, armors, ores, and much more. Sure, we could throw those in within a few weeks. However, that would be the easy road, and it would distract us from building the foundation we need for the systems that matter. Hytale is meant to be a forever game, and we are building it that way. Trust me, I'm a big fan of these features and want to work on them ASAP, but I must be patient and focus on executing the long-term vision.

That being said, our dev approach is pretty unique, and I know it can feel weird at times and feel like it contradicts the long-term focus, but it's somewhat both calculated and fun. A lot of features go out in a V1 state, half-baked on purpose, so you and the modding community can mess with them and show us what is good and what needs work.

Take the Necromancy Grimoire, for example. When it first dropped, people were unsure what it was for and why it felt so limited. Two weeks later, in the most recent pre-release, you can already see it getting better. That is intentional. Those early versions help us experiment with magic and set up the groundwork for things like summoning allies in future major updates. The feature might not be polished, but its bones (no pun intended!) are there. Similar to fire spread and the flamethrower coming to Creative Mode this week. It may feel raw, but your feedback and playtesting will shape it.

We do this so we can keep updates coming quickly and refine these systems before they are cemented into the core of the game.

Our focus right now is spot on: core game mechanics, quality of life, and everything needed to support the game's future... plus some fun stuff, of course! We need these basics solid to get the ground ready for Adventure Mode and, soon, begin the Cursebreaker story arc via Exploration Mode.

Behind the scenes, production is moving very well. We are a lean team with limited management, and yet, everyone is clear on the path forward and motivated by what we are doing. Seeing what you all make with the modding tools so far has been one of the most motivating parts of development!

Early Access has exceeded expectations and has given us runway beyond what we need to reach full release. That means we can accelerate, take risks, and invest in long-term systems. We'll be opening up job roles soon, and I fully expect many of the people who help shape Hytale in the future will come from the Hytale community you're building right now.

If you are a modder reading this, here is the real call to action: get your hands dirty with the tools while they are still forming. Break the things that need breaking. Show us what works, what doesn't, and what the game could be once these early systems evolve. Your experimentation is actually shaping Hytale. You're not just playing the game, you're helping make it.

We will have announcements soon about how you can join the team and get more formally involved. But if you want to help shape the long-term direction of the game, start by building in it now.

[Simon @Simon_Hypixel]

It’s now been 7 days since early access launch and I can confidently say that I have no regrets saving Hytale, it’s been the most challenging but rewarding experience of my life.

Thank you everyone for the amazing support, and a big thank you for the rebuilt Hytale team for trusting me to get this to the finish line in just a few months. I haven’t been involved with Hytale development for many years and coming back was a big unknown and risk for me, and my family. I fully trusted the people and it just worked. Amazing team, every single one made a big difference.

[Hytale @Hytale]

It's been almost one week since Early Access launch. This has been beyond our wildest dreams. We will continue to work hard for all of you. Thank you ❤️

[Simon @Simon_Hypixel]

Our first Hytale update is out.
Now working on update 2.

[Fireicemaster @Fireicemaster50]

@Simon_Hypixel Some type of zoom button or item.

Torches can be placed while in offhand.

The ability to change one type of block to another in the builders workshop like steep roof to normal.

only those three things from the time I played for now.

[Fireicemaster @Fireicemaster50]

@ItsBuddhaCat Loving the game so far, especially the atmosphere and world! its still surreal to even be playing it right now! Excited to see the future of the game!

[Simon @Simon_Hypixel]

I will be forever grateful to the amazing Hytale community. I promise to work hard in the coming years to achieve the full vision of Hytale.

Thank you, everyone, for the support.

By players, for players.
By modders, for modders.

[Myne @not_mynes]

🕊️ We Are Hytale🕊️

[Simon @Simon_Hypixel]

Pleased to announce that we have officially secured the next two years of development costs through pre-purchases. Combined with my personal commitment of ten years, we are looking very strong for the future ❤️

Thank you all for the support.

Hytale is saved.
We are almost home.

[Fireicemaster @Fireicemaster50]

@Hytale LETS GOOOOO!!! WE ARE ALMOST HOME, ARE YOU READY CURSEBREAKERS!!!!

[Hytale @Hytale]

✨ 7 DAYS ✨ until Early Access release!! #Hytale

[Fireicemaster @Fireicemaster50]

@Simon_Hypixel The clip looked really cool, also I have a theory that this is where we would find the new kweebecs because that tree in the back looks like kweebec style tree. With this being the "edge of the echo" maybe this is an echo of the past meaning the new kweebecs are ancestors.

[Simon @Simon_Hypixel]

Emerald Wilds (3 Regions, several biomes)
Howling Sands (3 Regions, several biomes)
Whisperfrost Frontiers (3 Regions, several biomes)
Devastated Lands (2 Regions, several biomes)

Regions are a bundle of biomes; we can treat them as "tiers" of difficulty in a way, even though right now, the difficulty is somewhat not that steep between the tiers.

Some screenshots of what happens when you discover a new region, see how the Zone is displayed at the top and Region in gold text:

[Fireicemaster @Fireicemaster50]

@Simon_Hypixel @felinusfish Hey Simon, this got me thinking will dungeons get some cool names too? I was talking with some other people about naming and the name "wispfrost" seemed like a cool dungeon name to me. Also liking the naming and what shows up when you enter a region!

[Simon @Simon_Hypixel]

We are delivering on our promise and releasing Hytale into Early Access on January 13, 2026, with all the consequences that come with that decision.

In just a few weeks, we merged roughly 300 branches, modernized a four-year-old code & asset base, scaled the team from 8 people to 50 core developers plus ~250 helping hands, tracked close to 1,000 bugs and fixed hundreds of them, added Mac and Linux support, and built an Exploration Mode that simply did not exist before.

When we started the mission to save Hytale, we made a clear promise: Launch without any delays, at any cost.

We are keeping that promise, even though it is a herculean task. In an alternate timeline, the most intelligent production decision would be to delay launch by 3-4 months, complete the obvious work in front of us, and avoid the overhead and distractions of maintaining a live product. The game would objectively be better on day one. That is not what we are doing.

Moving this fast also comes with very real downsides, and you have already seen them. We make visible progress every week, sometimes so much that key community members work overtime to keep up with the news - but you have also seen us drop the ball.

Some concrete examples:

1- Name reservations were intended to reward longtime fans. Still, we lacked sufficient time and information to verify the email list's integrity, and some longtime fans were missing from it.
2- The username generator produced unintended results, and our name filters failed to catch some unacceptable cases.
3- The payment system continues to report issues.
4- Communication regarding avatar customization, Steam release, modding, and pricing was insufficiently detailed, leading to misinterpretation or confusion.
5- Blog posts and technical write-ups have landed on an unpredictable schedule.
6- Game server providers, server owners, creators, and business inquiries are not receiving responses as quickly as we would like or as they deserve.

This is the tradeoff we all have to accept: You can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs. We wish we had more time to double-check every step and spend more time on communication, but that time comes at a steep opportunity cost. Extra polishing reduces the overall impression of Hytale on January 13. Our primary focus is the game.

The team is in a constant release cycle. Every week until launch is tightly scheduled, and we are doing this with a core team of around 50 people assembled in weeks, not a massive AAA organization. That means we are taking hundreds of calculated risks every day. Most pay off. A small fraction doesn’t - and when they don’t, the impact is very evident.

If I could ask for one thing from the community, it’s this: Please keep reminding each other what this pace implies - especially newer players who were not around for the #SaveHytale moment and may not know what the Early Access experience is meant to be for us.
Some people will not be able to get their desired username. Some will run into payment issues. Some information will arrive later than it ideally should. This is not because we don’t know better; it’s because we are choosing to keep a promise.

For us, Early Access success looks like this: you start a world, and the first impression and immersion leave you thinking, “This is much better than they said.” After more time, you also start to see the rough edges - and still end your first day thinking, “This game has a lot of potential. I’ll come back and keep up with updates,” or get you inspired to get into making maps, content, mods or a minigame server.

As you will be playing through the first week of Hytale, we will already follow up with the first patch. We will release updates rapidly in the first few weeks, with pre-releases available more frequently. You start on the 4-year-old archeology project, but within months, you will find yourself in a flow of rapid development, previously unthinkable.

We appreciate that the community has high expectations for Hytale, but please remember that we are fulfilling a promise we made early on: to release as soon as possible. That is what the core community asked for. Our biggest fear right now is not criticism - it’s that the story of #SaveHytale gets forgotten during Early Access, and the team ends up wishing we had simply delayed those extra four months instead of keeping our word.

[Team Cherry @TeamCherryGames]

Team Cherry Holiday Sign-off! Hollow Knight: Silksong - Sea of Sorrow revealed, the original Hollow Knight refreshed, and more!

Read the blog post here: https://t.co/qK3JrtAXC3