The long-awaited early access launch for Hytale is less than 24 hours away as this story goes live, but prospects for the sandbox game's success are already quite good. Hytale lead Simon Collins-Laflamme says that pre-orders alone have secured funding for the next two years of development. "Pleased to announce that we have officially secured the next two years of development costs through pre-purchases," Collins-Laflamme says in a tweet. "Combined with my personal commitment of ten years, we are looking very strong for the future," he adds with a heart emoji. There are a variety of Hytale pre-orders available to fans, ranging from a $20 USD standard edition to the pricier Supporter ($35) and Cursebreaker Founder's Edition ($70) packs. All three versions offer access to the game when it launches on January 13, but the more expensive editions include progressively fancier cosmetic packs for prospective buyers. Hytale expects "over 1 million players" at launch, Hypixel lead reflects on "incredibly difficult" development Hytale early access release date set for January 2026 just weeks after it's reacquired by original founders, following 5 years and cancellation at Riot: "If you don’t feel comfortable pre-ordering, please don't" Hytale's returning owner has hatched a genuinely ingenious marketing strategy: repeatedly telling everyone the game "isn't good," but like, only for now "Hytale is saved," Collins-Laflamme concludes as he thanks fans for their support, echoing his message from November when he first bought the game back from Riot. "We are almost home." In a follow-up tweet, Collins-Laflamme estimates that "50+ or so" people currently make up the Hytale development team. Two years worth of development funding – which would include the salaries of all those developers – would be no small chunk of change. Earlier this week, Collins-Laflamme estimated that Hytale will get 1 million players at launch, warning that you might wanna be ready for server issues on day one. Hytale lead isn't putting his Minecraft competitor on Steam at launch because "everything is wrong" with it, and Palworld lead "totally" understands his hesitance.