Months after Riot Games pulled the plug on Hypixel's Minecraft-esque sandbox game, Hytale, a new 16-minute trailer is showcasing how the game currently plays as the original co-founder fights to keep it alive, starting with an early access release.
This week, League of Legends developer Riot Games confirmed it had sold the rights to Hytale back to one of the original co-founders after it acquired the game back in 2020. Riot said that after considering "a range of options," it decided to sell the IP rights back to Simon Collins-Laflamme as this "gives players the best chance to one day experience a revised version of the game they've been waiting for."
Development on the game had been stagnating despite its sale to Riot, but Collins-Laflamme is set on resurrecting the dying IP, confirming he has "rehired more than 30 developers who know this game inside and out, with additional returns expected in the coming days."
As part of the revival efforts, Collins-Laflamme also shared a chunk of "raw and broken" gameplay taken on the "original legacy engine," which he then shared on YouTube.
fuck it 16 minutes of new hytale gameplay on the timeline pic.twitter.com/KTqrk8n5Ie
— Myne (@not_mynes) November 19, 2025
"This Hytale footage reflects the latest chapter in the game’s revival," the video description said. "Recorded in a single morning and put together by Simon. No bells or whistles. Just the game as it is. Raw and broken, but still beautiful. There’s a long road ahead, but early access is coming soon."
Collins-Laflamme left a personal note to would-be players, too, writing: "I promised players videos, screenshots, and blog posts. One day after the acquisition, I’m keeping that promise. Now that you’ve seen the first gameplay footage in a long time, I’m heading back to work on the early access launch. The team will share more clips and screenshots as we go.
"It mattered to me to release raw footage today so we break the curse once and for all."
In a blog post celebrating that Hytale had been "saved," Collins-Laflamme wrote: "Transactions like this are rare in the games industry. Thank you to everyone for keeping hope alive."
Hytale was announced in December 2018 with a trailer that has an incredible 61 million views on YouTube. Here’s the official blurb, as it was back then:
Hytale combines the scope of a sandbox with the depth of a roleplaying game, immersing players in a procedurally generated world where teetering towers and deep dungeons promise rich rewards throughout their adventures. Hytale supports everything from block-by-block construction to scripting and minigame creation, delivered using easy to use and powerful tools.
Excitement around Hytale was fueled by the experience of the developers themselves, who co-founded Hypixel, one of the most influential Minecraft servers in the world. Riot invested in the project and eventually bought the studio.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
