Last week, Riot Games announced it was pulling the plug on promising Minecraft-like sandbox game Hytale after over a decade of development. Since then, several notable names have been linked to possible revival efforts as fans search for a way the project could be saved, but now one of those name – Stardew Valley creator Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone – has distanced himself from reports he could help resurrect Hytale.
Hytale, to give you the potted history, started development in 2015, and was an attempt by developer Hypixel to combine the mini-games found on its hugely popular eponymous Minecraft server with its own RPG-like, Minecraft-style sandbox experience, built from the ground up. It generated enough buzz that League of Legends developer Riot Games heavily invested in the project before acquiring Hypixel in 2020.
Last week, however, Riot announced it was ending development on the still-unreleased project as it “became clear we couldn’t bring Hytale to life in a way that truly delivered on its promise.” At the time, there was suggestion Hypixel had unsuccessfully attempted to shop the game around to “investors or acquirers who could continue to help carry Hytale forward”, leading to employee layoffs and the studio’s imminent closure.
Fans, however, weren’t quite ready to give up after a ten year wait for Hytale, and took to social media in a bid to convince industry figures they should pitch in to help save the project. Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone, for instance, was accosted on Discord by a fan eager to save Hytale. After receiving the sales pitch – “I assume this investment would pay out for you too” – Barone responded noncommittally, “Possibly, but I would have to hear more about what the plan is, why it failed initially (behind the scenes), etc.”
With fans perhaps reading more into that “possibly” than was ever intended, Barone has now released a follow-up statement clarifying his position. Noting that his widely shared original comment was “not a public message [he] was trying to convey”, Barone told Rock Paper Shotgun, “I’m not actively doing anything to make this happen. If something were presented to me, I would be open to entertaining the idea, that’s all. It’s not something I am thinking about too much, since I’m focused on working on my next game.”
Barone is currently developing spooky chocolate-making life sim Haunted Chocolatier, which was announced in 2021. Work paused temporarily while his attention shifted back to Stardew Valley and its unexpectedly massive 1.6 update, but development resumed last December.
But while Barone’s focus is currently elsewhere, there’s perhaps still some hope for Hytale fans. Original Hypixel founder Simon Collins-Laflamme – who departed the company following its acquisition by Riot – has also become embroiled in the community’s Save Hytale campaign, telling fans he’s willing to “reach out” to Riot with a possible $25m investment proposal. This, he explained, could potentially allow for a “very early access release with temporarily removed features”, as development with a “relatively small” team was spun up again.
“Keep your expectations extremely low,” he cautioned on social media, “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… It’s the least I can do to the same community that gave me the opportunity to be where I am today… 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.”