Hytales Troubled Rebirth: Developers Fury Over Games State After Riot Acquisition

The beleaguered sandbox game  Hytale received a new lease on life in November 2025, when one of the project’s creators, Simon Collins-Laflamme, acquired it from Riot Games and resumed control over its development. However, behind this «happy ending» lay far more challenges than one might anticipate.

According to Collins-Laflamme, the state of Hytale after years of development under Riot was a source of frustration rather than joy.

Simon Collins-Laflamme

When the developer regained access to the project, Hytale barely functioned. The camera, movement, combat mechanics, crafting, building, gameplay loop, sound, and rendering—all were either malfunctioning or completely inoperative. Collins-Laflamme described it as miraculous that the team managed to bring the project to a playable and, more importantly, enjoyable state within just a few weeks.

Despite this progress, no one took the time to celebrate. The developers opted to maintain the momentum and continue working rapidly to make up for lost years. Collins-Laflamme himself invested more money, time, and personal resources than he initially intended to get the project to an acceptable level.

Moreover, he intentionally lowered audience expectations. At the end of 2025, the creator of Hytale showcased 16 minutes of «raw and broken» gameplay, admitting that the current version is far from perfect. For this reason, the early access fee is set at just $20—a deliberately low price, according to Collins-Laflamme.

The key to their swift progress, as the developer explains, is quite simple: minimal meetings, trust in the team, and a focus on results. Technical debts will be addressed later; for now, the priority is to release functional features and advance.

It’s worth noting that players will be able to try the resurrected Hytale starting January 13 on PC. The game will only be available through a dedicated launcher, with no plans for a Steam release at launch.