Hypixel Studios suffered layoffs after Riot Games canceled its first game, Hytale.
In 2015, Riot Games funded the developers behind the Minecraft multiplayer server, Hypixel, to create a new game, and later purchased the studio in 2020.
Hytale was a sandbox game that used a procedurally generated fantasy world. The game was inspired by the Minecraft server and featured minigames and RPG combat for bosses and dungeons. Additionally, the plan was to introduce a coding system that would allow players to run servers and create new assets.
Anticipation was high, but Riot Games ultimately decided to cancel Hytale due to the growing scope of the project.
Riot Games Cancels Hytale
The CEO of Hypixel Studios, Noxy, confirmed that Hytale is canceled.
“We’re ending development on Hytale and beginning the process of winding down Hypixel Studios over the next few months.”
“Our technical ambitions grew more complex, and even after a major reboot of the game engine, the team found that Hytale still wasn’t as far along as it needed to be. It became clear we’d need a lot more time to get it to a place where it could support the ambitious vision for the game.”
On LinkedIn, Amanda Goodall reported that Riot Games laid off about 150 employees from Hypixel Studios. It’s unclear if Riot Games has any plans to revisit Hytale in the future or shift focus elsewhere.
In other gaming news, Star Wars: Battlefront 2 smashed its all-time player count peak, Cyberpunk 2077 update 2.3 was delayed, and Build A Rocket Boy also suffered layoffs after Mindseye’s troubled launch.
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