Despite his enthusiasm, Hytale founder warns the Minecraft spiritual successor "is not good enough, I genuinely mean it"

He might have saved the most exciting Minecraft contender yet from the brink of extinction, but Hytale founder Simon Collins-Laflamme wants you to know that the upcoming launch won't be pretty. Originally built by Hypixel Studios, which was founded by a team responsible for some of the best Minecraft servers, Hytale was sold to Riot Games during development, which then pulled the plug on the project in June. Collins-Laflamme made the decision to step in and rescue it, hiring a team of more than 30 developers familiar with the project, but he's eager to stress the somewhat ramshackle state it's currently in.

"When I say Hytale is not good enough, I genuinely mean it," Collins-Laflamme writes. "It's not some reverse psychology trick." This new statement comes after the team recently announced the pricing plan for Hytale, described as "aggressively low" with a focus on getting players on board. However, the project lead wants to make it clear what anyone putting down their $20 (or more) is getting into; Hytale might become one of the best sandbox games eventually, but it's not in that state right now.

The reformed studio decided to abandon the newer cross-platform engine that was in development, because it would need an estimated two years to bring it to a playable state. "We are using a four-year-old game build with over 300 versions of prototypes that we Frankensteined together in record time into a single branch," Collins-Laflamme explains. "None of it was meant to be released this quickly and in this way.

"There are barely any game progression mechanics configured, and we have to implement them all in record time to make it somewhat enjoyable," he continues. "The exploration of the game is fun, don't get me wrong, but man, I wish we had more time to get a few more features or configurations in to enhance that experience. But no, we break the curse of release and fix [it] later."

Collins-Laflamme says he's aware this might "come at a significant cost; some people will be permanently convinced the game is doomed to remain in this state, unaware that this is an authentic early-access experience. I hope that people who share the game will explain the situation we are in and how we got here." He adds that the gameplay video is fairly light on the long-form loop "because there isn't much of it. Combat, game vibe, and exploration are great fun, but there needs to be mechanics to keep it going over time."

"One thing I have learned over time is to enjoy the painful feedback," the developer remarks. "It is the most critical part of making games and improving yourself as a game designer. When I read negative feedback on the gameplay video, I don't get defensive or hurt. I'm literally like, 'Yep, they are not wrong,' or, 'Why do they think like this? How can I solve their problem?' This has taken me years to get to that point. Our community, over the last 14 years on Minecraft, has not been shy about giving us their feedback."

While things might be messy at first, Collins-Laflamme reassures that this is all part of the process. "Of course, I'm confident it's going to be 'okay' for release. However, this is the current situation we are dealing with, on top of all the bug fixes, refactors, clean-ups, and other ongoing issues we are facing. We inherited a true hardcore engineering and design challenge, and we are on the clock to deliver early access."

Personally, I'm all for the approach; the Hytale team is being very transparent about the state of development, and given the years of ups and downs, combined with Hypixel's legacy as a community-driven team, this format makes sense to me. Collins-Laflamme ends with one final promise: "The game is owned by someone who cares and understands the situation, and I will do my best to empower my team to make a great game, however long it takes. This time, with all of you along for the ride, if you wish to be a part of it."