Minecraft-inspired survival crafting sandbox game Hytale will enter early access on January 13, 2026, developer Hypixel has announced. This release date announcement comes just weeks after original Hypixel founder Simon Collins-Laflame, joined by other studio veterans, reacquired Hytale from Riot Games. The game spent five years in development under Riot, only to be canceled earlier this year, and that was after an already sizable development cycle pre-reveal. "If you wish to pre-purchase the game, pre-orders open December 13, 2025," Hypixel says in a reply. "If you don’t feel comfortable pre-ordering, please don’t. "Hytale is saved": Riot sells Hytale back to Hypixel founders, who promise 10 years of support, an early access date soon, and a return to the "original vision" 10 years later, Hytale co-creator says he's "locking down the release date ASAP" for the sandbox RPG, and the base cost won't be much different to Minecraft itself Fresh from bringing his canceled Minecraft competitor back from the dead, Hytale boss shares new gameplay footage as "a taste of things to come" – but there's still "a lot of work" to be done "This is true early access, meaning it’s still very much unfinished and will be buggy for a while, but you have the team's commitment to make Hytale the game we’ve always wanted it to be. More details are coming soon. Thank you, everyone, for your support. Hytale has been through a long journey, and soon, we will be home." This echoes recent comments from Collins-Laflame, who said, "Real talk: Hytale isn't some polished AAA release waiting in the wings. It's messy. It's janky. And there's a lot of work to be done. My plan? Get it out to you as soon as possible. No more waiting. You’ll get to play it, rough edges and all. It won’t be perfect on day one. My hope is that together, we'll shape it into something truly special." Collins-Laflame also previously argued that Hytale would benefit from rapid-release early access development that could fold in player feedback, rather than betting the farm on long-haul iteration as Riot seemed to amid reports of heavy scope and technical creep. Following the reacquisition, Hypixel said it had gone back to a previous build and engine in order to save time and prioritize gameplay, as the new version in the works at Riot would require at least two more years of work before it would ever be ready for early access. Hytale is priced so "aggressively low" that its returning owner is "taking on a considerable personal risk," but "charging more didn't feel right" because "I don't think the game is good yet."