JacobRuby

Game Developer
"I like math"
Formerly @HypixelNetwork, @BadlionClient
PFP/Banner: @eeyitscoco

[JacobRuby @JacobRubyDev]

I'm in boys. @HypixelNetwork

[JacobRuby @JacobRubyDev]

#Hytale

[JacobRuby @JacobRubyDev]

@devcalner Agreed. I don't like seeing people fueling that flame.

[Devcalner @devcalner]

Just putting this out there:

We don’t have to try to tear Minecraft down to bring Hytale up.

Please be respectful of the Minecraft community. Toxicity ruins communities.

[JacobRuby @JacobRubyDev]

@draakkin_ @Simon_Hypixel These are looking great! I love how much the atmosphere adds to the feel of the game. Just walking around is entertaining.

[JacobRuby @JacobRubyDev]

@Mineplex Wizards if it's available, then Champions.

[JacobRuby @JacobRubyDev]

@ZiggfreedDev @Simon_Hypixel Custom keybinds will be huge!

[JacobRuby @JacobRubyDev]

@HytaleModding 👀

[JacobRuby @JacobRubyDev]

@refr0gerator @Simon_Hypixel Why not? Show cool things.

[Adathan @AdathanHytale]

@Simon_Hypixel I made 6 mmo-like bosses with AOE ground and spatial mechanics! (Trailer is old, 2 have since been added)

[JacobRuby @JacobRubyDev]

@Simon_Hypixel This is a tech demo for a rougelike minigame where you land on procedurally planets to mine resources and fight off monsters. You use resources to make upgrades to your ship, research technology upgrades, and eventually travel to the next galaxy. https://t.co/VLuxIpCNhC

[JacobRuby @JacobRubyDev]

@Prowl8413 This has to be ragebait 😂

[JacobRuby @JacobRubyDev]

@Simon_Hypixel Could you share what other job roles will be opening up in the coming weeks?

[JacobRuby @JacobRubyDev]

@Kaupenjoe @nepertunity HUGE IF TRUE

[Simon @Simon_Hypixel]

I want to talk about the in-game mod browser and monetization, but first: this is not a final answer or a locked policy! I'm brainstorming with the community because this is one of those decisions that can shape the game's future, and I want feedback before we commit to the exact model.

I've had people in DMs tell me Hytale needs paid mods, because modders put real work into their creations and should be able to earn from them. I've also had people tell me paid mods would destroy the ecosystem, because the mod browser would stop feeling like a place to explore and start feeling like a store.

Both sides have a point, and I don't think you have to pick one or the other. The model I keep coming back to is a hybrid that hasn't really been tried before: protect the player experience in-game while giving creators strong ways to earn player support.

Important note: none of these changes the EULA. This is not about taking away what modders can do outside the game. It's about what we choose to show and promote inside the in-game mod browser.

Here's my thinking: I want players to open the mod browser and feel like they're walking into a community library of cool things to try, not a shopping mall.

That doesn't mean I think modders shouldn't make money. Quite the opposite. I bring years of experience in modding and monetization, and I know the scene has evolved a lot. Creators put serious time into their work, and great modders should be able to build an audience, earn support, and make a living from what they create.

But there is a real cost when the first thing players see in a mod browser is price tags everywhere.

Mods are most magical when trying them is easy. You see something weird, useful, funny, beautiful, or ambitious, and you install it because there's no friction. That sense of discovery matters a lot to me.

There's also a deeper problem with paid mods that people don't talk about enough: the incentive structure between the game developer and the modder.

Imagine a creator makes an amazing fishing mod and sells it for $5. It gets huge. Later, the game team decides that fishing should be part of the base game. Suddenly, there's tension where there shouldn't be any. The creator feels like the game is stepping on their work, and if the studio is taking a cut from mod sales, it now has a financial incentive to leave feature gaps rather than fill them. Why add fishing to the base game if you're making money from someone else's fishing mod?

I really don't want that relationship. Our goal is to make a great game, give creators powerful tools, and let the whole ecosystem grow around that, not to leave holes for modders to fill and monetize.

So the direction is: mods in the in-game browser are free to install. No price tags in the browsing experience. No paywall as the default relationship between player and modder.

But creator support should be real.

We will give players ways to support their favorite creators, make creator profiles matter, highlight great work, and offer Hytale-side rewards for supporting modders: badges, titles, cosmetics, and so on. For example, if a player supports several creators, they get a special reward from us, not because they bought a mod, but because they supported the people building the ecosystem.

Longer term, there's room for something closer to an in-game Patreon-style system: support a creator, get early access to experimental builds or extra creator updates, while the mod itself stays free to browse and try. That part needs careful design, and I don't want to overpromise the exact shape today.

The principle is what matters: support should be pull, not push. Players should feel invited to support creators they love, not pressured every time they browse.

We make money when people buy the game and through optional cosmetics. That gives us a cleaner incentive structure: make Hytale better, invest in player experience, and help creators earn because players genuinely value their work.

BTW, if we ever handle creator payments directly, the only reason to take a cut would be to cover transaction and operational costs. We're not designing this around taking a percentage from modders.

This is not the obvious business-maximizing route. I know that. But I think it's the right one for players. I believe that if we are players first, we will do great in the long term.

I'd rather have a modding ecosystem that feels open, generous, creative, and alive than one where every cool idea immediately becomes another checkout screen. I believe we can help modders make great money while giving players a much better experience than a storefront-first model!

It will take time to get right, and some details will change as we build it. We'll share more as the mod browser takes shape, and I genuinely want to hear what players and modders think about this direction.

[JacobRuby @JacobRubyDev]

@Simon_Hypixel You could simplify the process by having players purchase "medals" that they can award to mods they like, similar to Stackoverflow's post awards. Bronze is $1, silver is $10, gold is $100, etc. This would tip the mod creators and also let the community know where the quality is.

[JacobRuby @JacobRubyDev]

@Prowl8413 @slikey Will the changes be backward compatible with existing WorldGenV2 mods?

[JacobRuby @JacobRubyDev]

@ZennyDev This is so cute! It makes me want to nose dive into the water off the top of the cliff 😂

[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.

[JacobRuby @JacobRubyDev]

@Simon_Hypixel This philosophy is huge and what makes Hytale so attractive to modders. After years of fighting *against* Minecraft to create experiences, we now have a tool that works *with* you to fuel your creations. Very refreshing, personally.

[JacobRuby @JacobRubyDev]

Update: I've been working a corporate IT job for almost 2 years now, and I'm miserable 😭. I just want to get back into game development full time, I miss it!