Hytale is finally playable. The long-awaited voxel sandbox from Hypixel Studios has launched in early access after years of development and anticipation from the modding and Minecraft communities.
The game costs $20 and is only available through Hypixel’s own launcher. No Steam release exists yet. Players can also buy an optional $50 cosmetic pack to support development.
The team wants early feedback from what they call “informed players” rather than facing the broad first-impression wave that comes with a Steam launch. They specifically note the game is still rough and worry about permanent review scores defining perception before the game is ready. Steam remains a possibility closer to the full 1.0 release.
The distribution setup uses Tebex as the payment processor. Some players report friction with the checkout process. Early access includes a 14-day refund window with up to four hours of playtime allowed. That’s double the typical Steam refund playtime threshold.
Players describe an exploration-heavy world with dungeons, ruins, and structures scattered across multiple biomes. Combat features various weapons and some form of magic system. The building system offers extensive block variety and decorative options. Tool tiers and mining progression exist similar to Minecraft but with more complexity.
Some content clearly remains unfinished. Players report finding “WIP” signs inside certain structures. Performance optimization is also incomplete. Users with strong hardware report unexpected performance drops. Others encountered an issue where the game defaults to integrated graphics instead of dedicated GPUs. The developers have acknowledged optimization work remains ongoing.
The long road here
Hytale was announced years ago with promises of deep modding support and adventure-focused gameplay that would expand beyond Minecraft‘s sandbox formula. The project has been in development for roughly eight to 11 years depending on how you count it. Some players suggest the current build resembles an older internal version released to get something playable into hands while work continues on more polished systems.
The standalone launcher approach lets Hypixel avoid Steam’s 30% revenue cut and maintain direct control over updates and telemetry. It also sidesteps the risk of launching too early on the world’s largest PC gaming storefront where first impressions stick permanently.
