Hypixel Studios, the developers of Hytale, have announced they have been acquired by Riot Games as an independent studio.

Originally beginning as a mod for Minecraft, Hytale is a sandbox roleplaying game, offering tools for players to create their own experiences. While the game does have its own adventure, players can create their own minigames, movies, animations, and more.

Now, Hypixel Studios have announced Riot Games has acquired them as an independent studio. CEOs Simon Collins-Laflamme and Project Lead Aaron Donaghey (“Noxy”) explain further. Firstly, Collins-Laflamme explains how the warm reception to the game’s trailer opened up opportunities for the studio to grow further.

“We’re immensely grateful for the enthusiasm and creativity of the growing Hytale community, and we’re committed to delivering a game that lives up to your expectations. That means doing everything we can to ‘level up’ as a studio, from bringing in new talent to improving our processes to seeking out partners who understand our mission.

The success of the trailer opened many doors for us in the games industry. We’ve had a lot of interest from potential partner companies, and while this has been very exciting we’ve also been careful about how we approach each opportunity. It’s absolutely vital to us that we act in the best interest of our team, our project, and our players.

With that in mind, here’s the big news: Hypixel Studios is being acquired by Riot Games as an independent studio. We’ll continue to operate in the same way as we have before, but Riot will become our parent company and we’ll gain access to their expertise and resources. This means a bigger budget for Hytale, more security for our team, and advisory support from a company that knows how to launch and operate successful, long-running games.

Please note that this doesn’t affect the Hypixel Minecraft server or the team at Hypixel Inc at all. This acquisition only applies to Hypixel Studios.”

Collins-Laflamme has stated that Donaghey shall now become the CEO of Hypixel Studios, however he and other former CEO Philippe Touchette (“Rezzus”) will “step back and be in a better position to advise the team whenever they need it.”

Donaghey explains how multiple team members, including himself, were former Riot Games staff. When the studio was founded in 2018, they “did so with the support of an advisory group of angel investors that included Riot. Then, as now, we were impressed by their enthusiasm for what we are trying to achieve, and grateful for their expertise.”

He also explains that negotiating the deal was why the team found it necessary to “go quiet” for long periods of time in 2019. While other studios made offers, Donaghey explains why they ultimately went with Riot Games.

“Despite our existing relationship with Riot, we’ve had many partnership opportunities present themselves to us. Riot has been encouraging as we’ve explored these other options, and highly respectful of our goals, our culture, and our community. In the end, that is one of the main reasons that we’ve decided to enter into this new partnership. Riot understands the kind of company we are and the kind of game we’re making, and they’re invested in our success.

Ultimate responsibility for Hytale still falls to us. The same team is developing the game, and while we’ll be expanding and improving our development pipeline, the core culture of Hypixel Studios won’t change. We want to create the most empowered player community in the world. Through this new partnership with Riot, we’ll have access to resources, tech and expertise that will aid us in achieving this goal.”

Finally, Hypixel Studios will now be setting up their first physical office in Derry (also known as Londonderry), Northern Ireland. This in turn means more support staff, a new QA team, and other opportunities for growth. Many of these new job positions are available now.

“We’ve spent a year figuring out the most responsible way to secure the resources we need to deliver the best game we can make, “ Donaghey states. “Now that we’ve answered that question, we can focus on the really important part: finishing the actual game!”

You can find an abridged rundown on Hytale (via the official website) below.

WHAT IS HYTALE?

Embark on a journey of adventure and creativity. Hytale combines the scope of a sandbox with the depth of a roleplaying game, immersing players in a procedurally generated world where teetering towers and deep dungeons promise rich rewards. Hytale supports everything from block-by-block construction to scripting and minigame creation, delivered using easy to use and powerful tools.

ADVENTURE

A QUEST FOR THE AGES

As you traverse each generated landscape, you’ll piece together the history of the world through handcrafted adventure scenarios. You might encounter a mage’s tower overrun with monsters, descend into an underground cavern, or take on a colossal boss monster. With a wide variety of scenarios available at launch, no two adventures will be the same.

CHOOSE YOUR PATH

Hytale supports many different playstyles. Whether you think of yourself as a settler, adventurer, or craftsperson, you’ll have plenty to do as you advance through the story. Best of all, the adventure mode is fully playable in co-op: gather a party of friends and combine your skills to leave a mark on the world together.

ENCOUNTER DIRE FOES

The world of Hytale is host to creatures large and small, from scampering critters to powerful monsters. Each zone features its own unique wildlife, with dangerous creatures standing guard over the most powerful gear in the game.

MASTER THE WILDERNESS

Put down roots in any of Hytale’s beautiful biomes. Grow your own crops, take care of your pets, tame mounts, and set about building boats and other vehicles to help you explore. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to be creative whether you choose to build a cottage or a castle.

DISCOVER UNIQUE WORLDS

Experience moments of magic as our world generation technology creates spectacle on the fly: rushing rivers carve tunnels through mountains, waterfalls tumble into ancient caverns, and bubbling hot springs promise respite from the perils of the wild.

Hytale launches 2021 for Windows PC, and Mac.

In recent news, Riot Games came under criticism for their kernel-based anti-cheat software in their free-to-play first person shooter Valorant. Some users were concerned it would give Riot Games the ability to spy on their computer, along with other concerns.