Hytale founder Simon Collins-Laflamme does not "expect modders to carry the game for us"

The very early access state of Hytale hasn't dissuaded modders from jumping into the new sandbox game in droves to start building custom content. That should come as no surprise, given that developer Hypixel Studios began life as a group of Minecraft modders, who grew their creations into a vast server network for all manner of modifications and minigames in Mojang's blocky hit. Studio founder Simon Collins-Laflamme has been extremely vocal about encouraging Hytale creators to share what they're building, but has now taken a moment to emphasize that he doesn't expect them "to carry the game."

Collins-Laflamme and Hypixel have been very publicly encouraging and sharing the wealth of early Hytale mods, and just this week announced a $100,000 mod contest that he calls the first of many to come. "I want to explain clearly why we're pushing modding so hard in Hytale," he writes. "It's not because we expect modders to carry the game for us. It's because I believe the modding community is going to be one of the foundations for where we take Hytale next."

The studio's founder, who bought back the rights to Hytale from Riot Games after the League of Legends maker halted its development on the project, says he wants to put modders "front and center" of the Hytale experience. "I want people making incredible worlds, NPCs, systems, and experiences to be recognized, celebrated, and rewarded." He calls the new tournament "esports, but for modders."

Collins-Laflamme reveals that there's "another reason I care so much about this," one you might be able to guess if you've been watching development closely. "We hire from the community," he explains. The team has now grown to more than 70 members, and he notes that most of the recruits "have been people we already knew, respected, and saw building amazing things, especially in the modding community."

"We're not trying to build some giant corporate machine with layers of people giving orders," he continues. "We're building a scrappy, agile team full of people who actually make things. That matters to me a lot. Everyone here is expected to touch the game. Even people in leadership. Even me. I pushed a small visual fix myself yesterday. I'm in the game constantly, and if I see something wrong, I either fix it or make sure it gets worked on. That's the culture I want around Hytale: close to the work, close to the game, close to the community."

Collins-Laflamme says his passion for game development was reignited by his dramatic return. "Getting Hytale back lit that fire in me again. It's stressful, sure, but it's good stress. The kind that comes from building something you believe in." He adds that constantly developing the game with modding at the forefront "makes development harder" and increases dev time in the short term, "but I believe it pays off in a big way later, because every good system we build can become a hundred great creations from the community."

The most "exceptional" of those creations then open a "bridge" between the game's developers and the modder, he remarks. "Maybe we can collaborate. Maybe we can learn from it. Maybe we can hire them. If somebody makes an incredible fishing mod before we've even tackled fishing ourselves, I don't see that as a threat. I see talent. I see proof that the ecosystem is working."

"That's why I'm pushing for this so hard," Collins-Laflamme concludes. "Not because modding replaces the studio, but because it makes the game bigger than the studio. It helps us discover talent. It helps us build better in the long run. It keeps us connected to the people who care the most.

"If we do this right, modding won't just be a feature of Hytale. It will be one of the strongest foundations for its future. This is just the beginning. We are still in early access."