Riot Games shuts down Hypixel Studios and ends development of Hytale

Here’s a bit of sad news for gamers. Hypixel Studios is shutting down and ending development of Hytale. The game looked pretty nifty, combining action-RPG mechanics with Minecraft. Riot Games purchased the developer back in 2020, though it has been working on Hytale a lot longer than that.

Development is ending immediately and the company will be shutting down “over the next few months.” Hypixel CEO Aaron “Noxy” Donaghey said the decision was made when it “became clear we couldn’t bring Hytale to life in a way that truly delivered on its promise.”

“Over time, as our vision evolved and the genre matured around us, the bar kept rising,” he continued. “Our technical ambitions grew more complex, and even after a major reboot of the game engine, the team found that Hytale still wasn’t as far along as it needed to be.”

Donaghey doesn’t blame Riot. He went on to say that the company behind League of Legends and Valorant offered the staff “generous severance” and is helping impacted employees find new opportunities. We contacted Riot Games for a comment and will update this post if we hear back. 

This is a bummer. The game looked pretty darn cool and recent developer updates teased reworked biomes, improved graphics and a lot more. Now we’ll never know what could have been. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/riot-games-shuts-down-hypixel-studios-and-ends-development-of-hytale-190435047.html?src=rss