Hytale, the Game Inspired by Minecraft, Becomes a Phenomenon After Almost Being Canceled
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Almost canceled in 2025, Hytale is reborn as a 2026 phenomenon, topping Twitch and selling 1 million copies on day one.
Hytale, the adventure and building game inspired by Minecraft that was almost canceled in the middle of last year, pulled off one of the biggest comebacks in the video game industry in early 2026. After co-founder Simon Collins-Laflamme bought back the game's rights from Riot Games in November, the team managed to launch an early access version on January 13, achieving immediate and overwhelming success. The game sold more than one million copies on its first day and, shortly after launch, became the most-watched game on the Twitch streaming platform, with more than 420,000 concurrent viewers.
This impressive comeback comes down to a combination of factors, including the passion of the modder community and more agile management after the split from Riot. The project, which began more than a decade ago and was acquired by the League of Legends giant in 2020, faced scope and development problems. However, the new independent team managed to get the game online in record time, securing resources for the next two years of development with the initial revenue. In this way, a title that seemed doomed to oblivion was reborn as one of the biggest phenomena of the moment.
A journey of ups and downs
Hytale's journey so far has been marked by huge expectations and deep disappointments. In the summer of 2025, Hypixel Games, then a Riot subsidiary, announced the cancellation of the project. At the time, former CEO Aaron “Noxy” Donaghey explained that the game's ambitious vision would require much more time to be properly realized. This announcement was a hard blow for fans who had waited years for the game. Still, Simon Collins-Laflamme's decision to take back the reins of the project completely changed the course of the story.
With early access now available, the reaction from players and content creators has been extremely positive. Collins-Laflamme himself described the situation as “surreal,” expressing gratitude for the massive support and the community's understanding of the game's early state. He also mentioned that much of the feedback received was already on the roadmap, which inspires confidence in the future of development. Therefore, what looked like the end turned into a promising new beginning for this ambitious world of blocks and adventure.
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