When it comes to sandbox gaming, no game has reached the popularity ofMinecraft. Since its humble beginnings in 2011, the game has grown to become a global phenomenon, with gamers around the world showing off their blocky creations. WhileMinecraftis primarily a single-player game, players can build together by joining servers, and of the hundreds of public servers that are available, theHypixel Networkis easily the largest. It enjoys over 100,000 concurrent players online during its peak hours.
The creators oftheHypixel Networkhave branched and made their own sandbox game titledHytale, and while it is heavily inspired byMinecraft, it includes enough new features to distinguish it from its big brother. Fans ofMinecraftshould probably keep their eye on this game because it shows great potential and could grow to be a viable alternative toMinecraft. However, due to the growing scope of the game, players will have to wait a little longer than anticipated before they can play it.
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The History of the Hypixel Network and Hytale
TheHypixel Network, also just known asHypixel, was created by Simon Collins-Laflamme and Phillippe Touchette, and it was opened in 2013. The two were longtime fans who createdMinecraftmapswhich they uploaded to YouTube, and they eventually created a server to showcase these maps. They began adding mini-games for players to keep themselves busy while they waited, but the mini-games proved to be so successful that they became the main draw of the server. The mini-games on the server include snowball fights and last-man-standing battles.
By 2015, the server had grown so large that it cost $100,000 a month for the developers to maintain, and they managed to keep it running throughin-game microtransactions. This changed when Mojang alteredMinecraft’s terms and conditions, putting new rules on monetization which adversely affectedHypixel, causing the server to lose 85% in revenue. With the server bleeding money, the choices were to either shut it down or take the operation elsewhere. Fortunately, the developers chose the latter option by creatingHytale.
What Can Gamers Expect From Hytale?
At first, the developers had tons of wacky ideas forHytale, mostly because they wanted to differentiate their game fromMinecraft, but they decided to keep things simple and familiar and make use of all the experience they gained from managing theMinecraftserver. As is the case inMinecraft,Hytalewill feature a procedurally generated world that players will be able to mold and manipulate. It will contain several zones where players will encounter various Mobs, some of which are friendly and some of which are hostile.
Hytalewill also feature mini-games much like the ones found in theHypixel Network,and this will include player-versus-player games. Additionally, there will be plenty of mod tools available, allowing players to build and share custom content. Tech-savvy players will be able to extend their creativity even further by making use of the game’s scripting system that will let players execute code and make use of 3D modeling, texturing, and animation toolkits.
WhenHytalewas first announced in 2018, it gathered over 30 million views on YouTube within a month. The developers ofHytaleintended for gamers to get to play it in 2021, but the growing scope of the game has pushed it back to 2023. Hopefully, the time is spent polishing the game to perfection, as the underdog title has the potential to be the nextMinecraftto some degree.
Minecraftis available now on Mobile, PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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