Should You Pre-Order Hytale? A Realistic Look at Early Access

Hytale’s January 13 early access launch is unusual. Most studios hype their early access releases and downplay the rough edges. Hypixel Studios is doing the opposite - co-founder Simon Collins-Laflamme has repeatedly told people “I don’t think the game is good yet” and “if you don’t feel comfortable pre-ordering, please don’t.”

That kind of honesty is rare, and it’s why this launch deserves a realistic look rather than pure hype or pure cynicism. Here’s what you’re actually getting if you pre-order, what makes it interesting despite the admitted problems, and when waiting makes more sense.

What’s Actually Launching on January 13

Hytale enters early access with three game modes available from day one:

Exploration Mode is the core adventure experience - procedurally generated worlds, biomes, dungeons, NPCs, and progression systems. This is where you’ll spend most of your time if you want the RPG-adjacent gameplay the 2018 trailer promised.

Creative Mode gives you unlimited building tools with no survival mechanics. If you just want to construct things or prototype ideas before jumping into Exploration, this is where you start.

Modding support launches simultaneously, which is the most unusual part. Most early access games add modding later (typically 6-7 months after release). Hytale is built on a modding-first architecture with official documentation, scripting APIs, and asset creation tools available at launch. Server owners can run modded servers immediately, but this doesn’t necessarily mean modding will function correctly.

What’s NOT launching: full Adventure Mode (the structured story campaign), official minigames, Mac/Linux support (Windows only at launch), or console versions (planned but no timeline).

The base game costs $19.99 USD. Two higher tiers exist purely as ways to support development and get cosmetic items - Supporter Edition ($34.99) and Cursebreaker Founder’s Pack ($69.99). None of these affect gameplay. You can upgrade tiers later and only pay the difference.

The Unusual Backstory (And Why It Matters)

The development history explains both why this is launching at all and why it’s in rough shape.

Hytale was announced in December 2018 with a trailer that got 60+ million views. Riot Games acquired Hypixel Studios in 2020, poured over $100 million into development, and eventually decided to rebuild the entire engine for cross-platform support. That rebuild pushed the timeline out years with no clear end date. Riot cancelled the project in June 2025.

In November 2025, the original founders bought Hytale back from Riot and reformed Hypixel Studios as an independent company. Here’s the key part: they abandoned the new engine and went back to a four-year-old legacy build that had been shelved. They merged 300+ GitHub branches, got it working, and committed to launching early access in two months.

This explains why Simon keeps saying the game isn’t polished - they literally returned to an older prototype build and are shipping it as-is to get something playable out the door. The alternative was waiting another 2+ years for the engine rewrite to finish, which wasn’t financially viable for an indie studio.

What Makes This Interesting Despite the Risks

The combination of factors here is unusual enough to be worth paying attention to, even if you’re not pre-ordering immediately.

Modding from day one changes the equation. Most early access sandbox games lock down modding until later in development or rely on community reverse-engineering. Hytale launches with official tools, documentation, and server APIs. If the modding community shows up early, the rough base game matters less - modders will fill gaps while the core team works on polish.

$20 is aggressively low for what this could become. Simon explicitly said he priced it that way because “charging more didn’t feel right” given the game’s state. Most early access sandbox games launch at $30-40 or more. If Hytale follows through on even half of what’s planned, that’s solid value. If it doesn’t, you’re out $20, not $60.

The 10-year funding commitment is real money, not marketing talk. Independent studios typically don’t announce decade-long runways unless they’ve actually secured funding. Hypixel isn’t raising venture capital or answering to a publisher - the founders are personally funding this. That removes the pressure to compromise on vision or shut down if early access revenue disappoints.

The community stuck around through cancellation. When Riot killed the project, the community didn’t disappear. Thousands of people were still active in Discord and forums when the resurrection was announced. That kind of resilience usually signals genuine interest, not just hype-cycle tourists.

From a hosting perspective, we’ve had a steady stream of clients asking when WinterNode will support Hytale. We’re preparing infrastructure now and watching server requirements as they’re published. The fact that dedicated servers launch day one with full mod support means the multiplayer community can start building immediately rather than waiting months for official server tools.

Reasons to Wait

Pre-ordering makes sense for some people. It doesn’t make sense for everyone, and there are legitimate reasons to hold off.

The game is admittedly buggy and incomplete. This isn’t speculation - Hypixel Studios has been transparent about returning to a legacy build that “will feel behind” in some areas. If you expect a smooth, polished experience, you will be disappointed. Early access means you’re paying to playtest an unfinished product.

There’s no regional pricing yet. The $19.99 USD price is flat globally while they work on regional pricing. If you’re in a region where $20 hits differently than it does in the United States, waiting for regional pricing might save you money.

Mac and Linux support isn’t confirmed for launch. The FAQ says they’ll “attempt” Mac/Linux support but makes no promises. If you don’t run Windows and don’t want to deal with compatibility layers, you’re waiting regardless of when you buy.

Scope could expand again, and timelines could slip. The original vision was massive. The Riot-era rebuild was even more ambitious. Nothing stops that from happening again once the studio has revenue. If you’re skeptical that an indie team can deliver on the full vision after what happened with Riot’s resources, that skepticism is reasonable.

First impressions matter, and this won’t make a great first impression. If you think you’ll only give Hytale one shot and a rough early access build will turn you off permanently, wait for 1.0. The game will still be there in a year or two, presumably in better shape.

The Smart Play

If you’re reading this trying to decide whether to pre-order, here’s the framework that makes sense:

Pre-order the Standard Edition ($20) if:

• You loved the 2018 trailer and want to see if the foundation is there
• You’re comfortable with early access in general and understand what “buggy and incomplete” actually means
• You want to participate in the modding ecosystem early
• You care about reserving your preferred username (but you can’t check if a username is available until you purchase)
• $20 is low enough risk that you won’t feel burned if the game doesn’t pan out

Consider the higher tiers ($35/$70) if:

• You genuinely want to support independent development and can afford to
• You care about the cosmetic items and Discord roles (they’re early access exclusive)
• You want to make a statement that you believe in the project

Wait if:

• You want a polished, feature-complete experience
• You’re on the fence and would rather see how the first few months play out
• You’re not on Windows and don’t want compatibility headaches
• You think you’ll regret spending money on something unfinished

There’s no FOMO here - Simon explicitly said not to pre-order if you’re uncomfortable. The higher-tier cosmetics are early access exclusive, but that’s the only limited-time element. The game will be available to buy after January 13, and the Standard Edition price isn’t changing.

Our take as people who run game servers for a living: if you’re the type of person who plays Minecraft, Terraria, or Vintage Story and thinks “I wish this had better modding tools and more RPG elements,” Hytale is worth the $20 gamble. The foundation they’re shipping - even in rough form - includes things that usually take years to add to early access games. If you need a finished product before spending money, check back in six months and see where development is.

WinterNode Will Be Ready When Hytale Launches

We’re obviously biased, but WinterNode exists because we wanted hosting that didn’t nickel-and-dime people. All our Game Servers are priced at $1.99/GB of RAM - we don’t charge extra for CPU usage, storage space, or basic features that other hosts mark up.

We’ve had enough clients ask about Hytale support that we’re actively preparing for it. As a hosting provider, we’re watching a few things closely: server resource requirements (how much RAM and CPU does a vanilla server actually need), mod ecosystem development (which mods are performance-heavy), and how Hypixel Studios handles dedicated server tools. Our goal is to have Hytale hosting available when the game launches, with clear guidance on what plan sizes make sense for different player counts and mod setups.

Everything’s backed by our 48-hour refund policy, so there’s no risk in trying things out. Got questions? Our support team responds to tickets with actual humans, and we’re active on Discord if you prefer chatting there. We’ll also be adding Hytale setup guides to our help center as the early access period progresses and we learn what actually works in practice.