
It looks like the final chapter for the voxel-y MMORPG Hytale is yet to be written, even as the game and its developer Hypixel Studios were both shut down (an alleged result of executive mismanagement if you believe the outspoken former devs). Players started a petition to bring it back, and rumors of Stardew Valley’s Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone saving the game had to be tamped down, but now it seems that Hypixel Studios’ founder Simon Collins-Laflamme is spooling up to bring the project back to life.
Musings from Collins-Laflamme started last week, when he replied to a fan who beseeched him to work with Riot to revive the legacy engine version of the project. “It seems like the chapter is truly closed,” he wrote at the time. “I do have the money to run a 30 people team for a while but they were over 150 so not sure what kind of beast it has become to handle.”
As replies poured on, however, he seemed to begin formulating a very rough plan that would reduce scope, maintain the original engine, and cull unfinished features in order to get it into what reads like a paid-for early access state; he even said he would front $25M of his own money to see Hytale across a finish line. “No Kickstarter, just raw passion, high pressure and high risk taking,” he stated. “I have not reached out, I’m just thinking about it now because of the bullying.”
As fervor for this potential rebirth began to climb, Collins-Laflamme confirmed his commitment but also tried to brace gamers for disappointment.
“Guys, please, this is important, keep your expectations extremely low because usually when large companies shutdown a project like this the chances of revival are next to impossible. Yes, I made the decision, I will give my best to save Hytale. Even if it’s 1% chance. Its the least I can do to the same community that gave me the opportunity to be where I am today. I will reach out, however remember it will take a while, give it some time. It will take months to get answers and months to get done. I will share as much as possible as I go through the process.”
Since then, Collins-Laflamme’s plan for Hytale’s return seems to have crystallized, including months of engineering work, some cleanup, and the promise of keeping the good features that were developed like combat. He also appears to have stirred the pot further with a rather vague tweet that reads, “no risk, no story.”
sources: GameRant, PC Gamer, Twitter (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) via PC Gamer