Actually, Hytale was supposed to be released in 2021, but the game, which many call the “Minecraft killer”, is finally coming out – just not on Steam. Nevertheless, the title is selling so well that the developers are not worried about the future.
What kind of game is this? Hytale is a new sandbox RPG being developed by Hypixel Studios. At first glance, it’s clear that the team has taken heavy inspiration from Minecraft – Hytale aims to do everything better than its predecessor.
In recent years, Hytale has been referred to by many as the “Minecraft killer” – the game that could succeed the classic after it remained virtually unchallenged for so long. Similar to how the first Cities: Skylines did with the SimCity series.
The announcement trailer for the game was already released in December 2018, and the release was planned for 2021. However, things changed and Hytale was even put on hold in the meantime. A few months later, the creator of the game announced: “Hytale is saved”
Here you can see gameplay from the new game:
Pre-sales secure the next two years, even without Steam
Hytale is now entering early access: On January 13, 2026, it will be finally released – albeit initially only in an early access version. Thus, the development of Hytale is still not quite complete, but fans can at least play the game now and provide feedback.
However, if you want to rush to buy Hytale on Steam right now, you won’t find the game there. The developers have decided against an early access release on Steam. The reason for this is Steam reviews. You can only purchase Hytale through the official game website.
Although Hytale is currently not on Steam and thus not reaching as many players as possible, the financial future of the game seems to be secured. One of the creators of Hytale, Simon Collins-Laflamme, proudly announced on X (formerly Twitter) that they have “officially secured the next two years of development costs through pre-purchases”.
According to Simon, the team behind Hytale now consists of 50 people or more. Moreover, access to early access won’t hit the wallet too hard: There is a costly Founders Edition currently priced at $83.29 (about €71.39), while the Standard Edition costs only $23.79 (about €20.39).
The prices are as of the release of this article (January 13, 12:00 PM) and may change. Initially, the price of the Standard Edition was set at $19.99 at the announcement.
About 7 years after the announcement trailer, Hytale is finally in the hands of players. Many will be eager to dive into the game. However, the developers themselves warn against approaching the matter with overly high expectations: Hytale developers reveal launch date, simultaneously warn against purchasing
