Hytale dev reminds players that new features are "half-baked on purpose" and that chasing "short-term satisfaction" is not the way

Hytale‘s heroic rescue from Riot Games and its unexpectedly rapid revival always came with a big caveat. By Hypixel’s own admission, the game would be scrappy and constantly evolving by design – the studio’s CEO, Simon Collins-Laflamme, said before release that it was intentionally launching an early build of Hytale that is “not good enough,” but hoped to build it up over time with the community. At no stage was a feature-rich, totally stable product promised to players.

However, some appear to have forgotten what Hypixel’s strategy is, and why it’s important. Collins-Laflamme has now provided the community with some gentle reminders, saying that features go out “half-baked on purpose” and chasing “short-term satisfaction” is antithetical to how it wants to develop Hytale.

Even in its early, messy form, Hytale is still an absolute paradise for world builders and modders. The potential to become one of the best sandbox games ever is clear to see, and Hypixel hopes to realize that with an approach to development that’s a complete 180 from Riot’s silent, behind-closed-doors tactic. For the majority of players, they’ll be fully comfortable with the fact that features are pumped into the game in slightly buggy, unpolished states. They’ll be happy waiting for big content drops. They’ll get why Hypixel is taking this approach. However, it appears there are still a lot of players that don’t actually get it.

In a lengthy post on X, Collins-Laflamme reiterates Hytale’s approach. “What you’re playing right now is just the start of our long journey, and pretty much all aspects of the game need major work,” he says. “A few months ago, I said the game wasn’t good enough, and I still mean it.

“I’m incredibly grateful for the game’s success right now, and for how many of you see its potential. Honestly, I did not expect such a positive reaction across the board. That support is real, and it matters. But we need to stay disciplined and focused. The real danger at this stage would be to chase short-term satisfaction and lose sight of the long-term health of the game.

“We could very easily add more progression systems for the sake of progression. More loot, dungeons, boss fights, talent trees, new weapons, armors, ores, and much more. Sure, we could throw those in within a few weeks. However, that would be the easy road, and it would distract us from building the foundation we need for the systems that matter. Hytale is meant to be a forever game, and we are building it that way. Trust me, I’m a big fan of these features and want to work on them ASAP, but I must be patient and focus on executing the long-term vision.”

A lot of the recent grumbling stemmed from the Necromancy grimoire that was added to Hytale, with some players being underwhelmed by its scope and assuming this was some kind of reflection of how deep the game’s magic system would be.

“When it first dropped, people were unsure what it was for and why it felt so limited,” Collins-Laflamme explains. “Two weeks later, in the most recent pre-release, you can already see it getting better. That is intentional. Those early versions help us experiment with magic and set up the groundwork for things like summoning allies in future major updates. The feature might not be polished, but its bones (no pun intended!) are there.”

Hytale will repeatedly release features that are “half-baked on purpose,” he says, “so you and the modding community can mess with them and show us what is good and what needs work.”

One of my biggest irritations is players bemoaning bugs and incomplete features as soon as a game drops in early access – the clue is in the name, folks. Sure, if that game lingers in that state for too long without much in the way of improvement and innovation, or continues to act like an early access game after a 1.0 launch, then it deserves some criticism. I also understand that, in most cases, players are forking out for the privilege of playing a game in early access – Hytale included. But players should really remember what they’re signing up for.

Hytale has launched in a state that’s even earlier than most other games would dare to, and Hypixel only got the keys back off Riot a few months ago – it was never going to be a polished Minecraft rival out of the box, and Hypixel has always made its philosophy on development clear. I’d argue the amount of transformation it’s already gone through in its short life is impressive, and I definitely believe Hypixel is going about things the right way.