Hytale
Hytale | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Hypixel Studios |
Publisher(s) | Hypixel Studios |
Director(s) | Aaron Donaghey |
Platform(s) | |
Genre(s) | Sandbox |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Hytale is an upcoming sandbox game by Hypixel Studios. Production began in 2015 by developers from the Minecraft multiplayer server Hypixel with funding and assistance from Riot Games, who later acquired the studio in 2020. It is planned to be released for PC, consoles, and mobile devices in 2023 "at the earliest".[1]
Gameplay
Hytale features a procedurally-generated fantasy world composed of blocks of numerous shapes arranged in a three-dimensional grid, featuring different randomly generated biomes, creatures, and dungeons.[2] Players can participate in minigames similar to those found on the Hypixel server.[3] Players will be able to build and share mods and custom content using a set of browser-based and in-game tools.[3][4]
Hytale includes several procedurally-generated areas of the world known as "zones", made up of many biomes and mobs.[5] This mode will feature RPG-styled combat and include dynamic boss encounters and dungeon exploration. Hytale will feature block-based construction and includes many different world editing and cinematic tools players can use in-game.[5] It will feature a scripting system that allows players to create and execute code in-game, as well as a web-based 3D modeling, texturing, and animation toolkit based on CraftStudio which players can use to create custom assets for the game.[3] The game will feature both official and community-run servers[3] with the ability to implement custom features and minigames including player versus player (PvP) games.
Development
Hytale is being developed by Hypixel Studios for PC, consoles, and mobile devices.[2][6][7] Directed by Aaron Donaghey, the Northern Ireland-based studio consists of over forty employees who split off from Hypixel Inc., the company behind the development of the Hypixel server in Minecraft.[8][9] Development of Hytale started in early 2015.[10] The idea for Hytale arose due to EULA changes by Mojang in 2014 which blocked servers from having microtransactions that affected gameplay, leading to an 85% drop in the Hypixel server's revenue.[2] The developers realized they were not in control of their project and decided to make their own stand-alone game.[11][12] They originally wanted to avoid making a voxel-based game, but eventually decided to do so as they had experience in that genre from the Hypixel server in Minecraft.[2]
Hypixel Studios was at first self-financed with revenue generated by the Hypixel server. The studio subsequently received support from Riot Games, which invested several million dollars in the studio,[13][14][15][16] along with an advisory group that includes businessmen Dennis Fong, Rob Pardo, and Peter Levine.[13] The game was announced via a trailer in December 2018, with it amassing over 31 million views within a month.[17] The developers originally stated that the game was planned to be playable in 2021,[18] later saying in July 2021 that due to the scope of the game being expanded during development, it was now planned to be released in 2023 or later.[7]
In April 2020, Hypixel Studios was fully acquired by Riot Games.[19]
Reception
Prior to release, the game was nominated in the most wanted game category at the 2019 Golden Joystick Awards but lost to Cyberpunk 2077.[20] The game was also named the most anticipated at the 2021 Northern Ireland Game Awards.[21]
References
- ^ Also planned to be released for consoles and mobile devices, but the specific ones are yet to be announced.
- ^ Bolding, Jonathan (2021-07-04). "Sandbox building RPG Hytale isn't coming until 2023 'at the earliest'". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
- ^ a b c d Simpkins, Jen. "First Look: Hytale is putting adventure and creativity at the heart of its ambitious block-building sandbox". GamesRadar+. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
- ^ a b c d Walker, Ben (11 February 2019). "Hytale Interview - Hypixel Studios Talk Modding, Post-Launch Plans, and Minecraft Origins". DualShockers. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
- ^ Pearson, Craig (21 August 2019). "Cosplay as a cat and more with Hytale's mod tools". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
- ^ a b "Hypixel's Hytale nominated for Most Wanted Game Award". Northern Ireland Screen. 25 September 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
- ^ "Game developer Riot Games acquires Hypixel Studios". www.spglobal.com. S&P Global.
- ^ a b Hytale Team. "Summer 2021 Development Update". hytale.com. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
- ^ Cartmill, Claire (21 April 2020). "Videogame developer Hypixel Studios to set up NI headquarters". News Letter. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
- ^ Phillips, Tom (13 December 2018). "Hytale is a brand new game from giants of the Minecraft community, backed by Riot". Eurogamer.
- ^ "Hytale is a brand new game from giants of the Minecraft community, backed by Riot", Eurogamer, 13 December 2018
- ^ "Hytale is a Minecraft follow-up that remembers the Minigames". RockPaperShotgun. 20 December 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
- ^ "Hytale is a brand new game from giants of the Minecraft community, backed by Riot", Eurogamer, 13 December 2018
- ^ a b Jarvey, Natalie (13 December 2018). "Riot Games Leads Investment in Hypixel Game Studio". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
- ^ Fogel, Stefanie (13 December 2018). "Creators of Popular 'Minecraft' Server Announce New Game 'Hytale'". Variety. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
- ^ Takahashi, Dean (13 December 2018). "Beware, Minecraft and Roblox. Here comes the blocky world of Hytale". VentureBeat. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
- ^ Tarason, Dominic (13 December 2018). "Hytale is a blocky sandbox RPG spawned from a massive Minecraft server". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
- ^ Fischer, Tyler (12 January 2019). "First Trailer of 'Minecraft' Inspired Game 'Hytale' Has 31 Million Views In Less Than 30 Days". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on 9 April 2020.
- ^ McGlynn, Anthony (27 November 2019). "Minecraft-like RPG Hytale to be "playable by everyone" by 2021". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on 28 November 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
- ^ Webster, Andrew (16 April 2020). "Riot continues to expand beyond League by acquiring studio behind Minecraft-like game". The Verge. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
- ^ "Golden Joysticks Awards 2019". Games Radar. Archived from the original on 17 October 2019.
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: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ @Hytale (March 8, 2021). "We're very proud to have won 'Most Anticipated Game' at the NI Game Awards over the weekend - thank you to everybody involved and congratulations to the other winners and all of the nominees!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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