After a long wait, the first version of the Minecraft alternative finally launched on January 13th, and the numbers already show success.
How did the launch go? The developers of Hytale repeatedly warned in the days leading up to the release about issues at launch. It was stated even before release that the game had already sold a million copies and a large influx was expected. On January 11, 2026, CEO Simon wrote on X.com: “We expect over 1 million players on the day of Hytale’s Early Access release (January 13th) […]”.
However, this mark was finally surpassed. According to a screenshot from Hytale content creator Myne on X.com, “Simon,” as he is known in the game, posted that player numbers would be at 2.8 million on the evening of the release. He himself only stated on his X.com account: “We are seeing a VERY HIGH rate of new Hytale players.”
While it is unclear whether these are logins, concurrent players, or sold units, since it is the evening of the release, these numbers are likely to be quite close together. But that is not the only success that Hytale has achieved.
Here you can watch a trailer for Hytale:
Mega Success for Hytale
What else has Hytale achieved? The Minecraft alternative is not only successful in terms of player numbers, but it has also become the largest gaming category on Twitch, as the website SullyGnome.com shows. Thousands of streamers and over 400,000 viewers ventured into the new hit and tested how good Hytale really is.
Time for a Patch
How are the developers responding to the surge? While the developers and CEO “Simon” personally warned for days about delays in purchasing, sending confirmation emails, and waiting times at login, they did not remain idle.
On the release day, January 13, 2026, a first patch was released, which is supposed to fix important bugs in the game and especially in the internal systems. Several crashes that previously caused the game to crash or led to login issues were addressed. You can find the complete patch notes on Hytale.com
However, the patch did not bring any expansions for gameplay. These are expected only in upcoming patches, after the developers have managed the surge at launch.
Why does Hytale only start now? The development history of Hytale raised some doubts about whether the Minecraft competitor could really achieve the success that the once highly successful trailer had promised. After the purchase by Riot, they opted for a different engine and a new concept, developing for years, only to then stop development.
Only through the rescue of the original founder “Simon,” who bought back Hytale in 2025, did it return to the original concept of the Minecraft alternative, which now made its debut on January 13, 2026, in an early alpha version. However, the unfinished state did not hinder its rapid success.
Hytale has died and been resurrected; the success of the game likely proves that the developers and CEO “Simon” made the right decision to buy back the game from Riot. How this all worked out, you can find out here: Cancelled game reminiscent of Minecraft, now the creator offers 25 million to Riot to save his work
