After all these years, it’s coming.
After years of uncertainty and a couple of ownership changes, Hytale finally has a release date. Originally owned by Hypixel, the game was sold to Riot before entering a kind of development hell, before eventually being sold back to Hypixel again. The original owners have been eager to get a build out to the public, and it’s happening sooner than you think.
What is the release date of Hytale early access?
Hytale will launch in early access on January 13, 2026. The game will be available for pre-order one month earlier, on December 13. Hypixel, the developers, have been very open about Hytale not being feature complete, but a complex development history means there is more to the game than many of us first realized.
During the time that Riot owned the game, a large part of development seemed to center on the idea of a cross-play build across all platforms. This meant a complete rebuild of the game, which Hypixel has decided to just move on from. They had substantial work done on features and assets prior to the Riot sale, so they have stated they are rolling back to that build, releasing it as a PC only game, and hopefully offering support for other platforms at a later date.
This also means that, according to the devs, the game might feel “a bit behind” in some areas, as the build being rolled back to is about four years old at this point. As such, if you struggle to enjoy early access titles, it definitely seems like a good idea to wait until this one is more feature-complete.
Personally, I shall be there on day one. I have waited a long time for this. Make sure you check out our Hytale page for more breaking news and helpful guides when the game launches.
