'Hytale is saved': Riot sells cancelled game back to original co-founder, who promises to take it 'back to the original vision for Hytale'

Five months after cancelling the development of Hytale and closing the studio working on it, Riot Games has sold the whole thing back to original co-founder Simon Collins-Laflamme. And yes, that means work on the game has resumed: Collins-Laflamme said more than 30 former developers "who know this game inside and out" have been brought back to continue development, and more are expected to follow soon.

"We are thrilled to announce that we have acquired Hytale from Riot Games," Collins-Laflamme wrote in a new update on the Hytale website.

"While it didn't make sense for them to continue developing it in its existing form, they ultimately wanted what's best for players, and that's for us to eventually play a revised version of the game. We are grateful to Riot Games for making this possible."

Riot confirmed the same in its own post on X, saying the sale will give the Hytale community "its best shot at experiencing a revised version of the game."

"At Riot, our commitment is always to players first—ensuring that the choices we make, even when they’re difficult, reflect what we believe will create the most positive outcome for them," Riot CEO Dylan Jadeja said. "While at Riot, the Hytale team made a ton of incredible content and while this means Hytale’s journey will continue outside of Riot, we’re hopeful this transition provides a way for the community that has been so passionate and patient over the years to experience some of the great work that was done.”

The resurrected development team is "fully independent and personally committed to funding Hytale for the next 10 years," Collins-Laflamme wrote in today's Hytale update, adding that they're "going back to the original vision for Hytale."

That "vision for Hytale" has been a point of contention over the years. Hytale was first revealed in 2018, and two years later the Hypixel Studios team was acquired by Riot. But a planned early access release in 2021 failed to materialize, and further delays followed until the cancellation. Hypixel co-founder Noxy, who served as studio CEO under Riot, said the delays were in part down to mission creep: "Over time, as our vision evolved and the genre matured around us, the bar kept rising. Our technical ambitions grew more complex, and even after a major reboot of the game engine, the team found that Hytale still wasn’t as far along as it needed to be. It became clear we’d need a lot more time to get it to a place where it could support the ambitious vision for the game."

In a post on X, Noxy said he's "extremely grateful that players will get to play Hytale," and thanked Collins-Laflamme for bringing it back to life. Collins-Laflamme replied by thanking Noxy for all the work he'd put into the game over the years, and "for helping support the deal that brought the project back home today." It's also clear, however, that Noxy won't be one of the rehired developers.

A few ideas for how to save Hytale were flung around shortly after it was cancelled: Some people hoped Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone would step in, and Anego Studios entertained the possibility of using the property for a new Vintage Story game mode.

But it was Collins-Laflamme who really came out swinging, saying a week after it was cancelled that he believes in Hytale so much he'd put down $25 million of his own money—presumably earned by selling Hytale to Riot in the first place—to finish it. He also committed to reaching out to Riot about a possible sale, and here we are.

How much he actually forked over to take back Hytale wasn't revealed, and Collins-Laflamme isn't alone in the venture: The acquisition announcement names fellow Hypixel co-founder Philippe Touchette as "co-funding" the project; Touchette is also "overseeing financial responsibility, and helping structure the finances for the acquisition."

Further good news fans is that they should have their hands on it relatively soon. Collins-Laflamme warned, however, that Hytale in its current state is "messy," "janky," and that "there's a lot of work to be done." Still, the plan is to release it "as soon as possible," presumably in some early access form, and take it from there.

"It won’t be perfect on day one," Collins-Laflamme wrote. "My hope is that together, we’ll shape it into something truly special."