Why Did Riot Games Give Up on Hytale?

For 4 years, the development of Hytale has been a rollercoaster. In the beginning, it was just Hypixel, then Riot Games came and saved Hytales’ development before its cancellation back in 2020. However, Hytale faced cancellation one more time, this time coming from Riot Games itself. After saving its development and investing in its future, why did Riot Games give up on Hytale?

Why Did Riot Games Cancel Hytale

Read More: How To Make Glass In Hytale

In a statement from a June 2025 blog post, the Hypixel team stated, “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.” Riot Games during this time only stated to have given out severance packages and helped laid-off employees find other jobs. Here’s the full statement from Riot Games after the Hypixel team repurchased the full 100% rights to Hytale

“At Riot, our commitment is always to players first—ensuring that the choices we make, even when they’re difficult, reflect what we believe will create the most positive outcome for them. While at Riot, the Hytale team made a ton of incredible content, and while this means Hytale’s journey will continue outside of Riot, we’re hopeful this transition provides a way for the community that has been so passionate and patient over the years to experience some of the great work that was done.” – Riot CEO Dylan Jadeja.

During the time Riot Games bought Hytale, Hypixel Founder Simon Collins-Laflamme left. Hypixel development began to stutter. Game updates and social media presence began to dwindle. It was announced a year later that Hytale would support cross-play. This ended up having various gameplay features reworked or even shelved. Technical difficulties while trying to meet promises also began occurring, and that’s when Riot eventually pulled the plug.

New Hytale Team

Including 30 previous Hytale developers, here are the heads of the Hytale Development team.

• Simon Collins-Laflamme (Co-founder): Directly involved daily, shaping vision and ensuring the long-term health of the game and community. Co-funding in the project.
• Philippe Touchette (Co-founder): Co-funding, overseeing financial responsibility, and helping structure the finances for the acquisition.
• Kevin Carstens (Technical Lead): Leading all technical development since day one with deep knowledge of every layer of the game.
• Patrick Derbic (Management Lead): Handling studio operations, team coordination, and ensuring efficient execution.

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