Hytale is Built for Creators from Day One
Hytale has been on PC gamers’ radars for years, and it is finally heading into early access on January 13. The game started life as a project from Hypixel Studios, the team behind one of the biggest custom Minecraft server networks in the world. That heritage matters, because Hypixel’s success has always been tied to player creativity and community driven content.
Instead of just making another blocky survival game, the developers are leaning hard into creation tools. Hytale is being designed as both a game and a platform where players can craft their own experiences, modes and even entirely different genres inside the same engine.
Think of it as a mix between a traditional sandbox adventure and a powerful modding toolkit aimed at normal players, not just experienced programmers.
From Survival to Side Scroller: What Players Can Build
One of the most exciting recent teases from Hypixel Studios came from founder and CEO Simon Collins Laflamme. On social media he shared a short clip of a custom game made entirely inside Hytale’s tools. Instead of the usual first person adventure you might expect, this was a full 2D side scroller.
The important detail is who made it. According to Collins Laflamme, this mini game was created by one of Hytale’s level designers who is not a programmer. That is a big hint at the kind of accessibility the team is aiming for.
This small example shows a few key things about Hytale’s direction:
- It is not limited to one style of gameplay. Players can potentially build very different genres, from platformers to adventure maps and more.
- The tools are being built so that designers and hobbyists without deep coding knowledge can still create impressive results.
- Hytale wants to continue the tradition of Minecraft style creativity but push it much further with more structured tools.
The clip also featured detailed visual design and polished presentation, which suggests that Hytale’s editor lets you do more than just place blocks. You can build real levels, tune how the camera behaves and craft full experiences rather than just static maps.
Creative Tools That Feel Like Modding Without the Pain
The Hytale team has started to show more of these tools in action. In a recent YouTube video they demonstrated what they call their creative tooling system. The focus in that video was mostly on placing and arranging objects in the world, but it already looks more advanced than a simple level editor.
If you have ever played an MMO with a good housing system, that is a good comparison. The video calls to mind the kind of flexible decoration and layout tools you see in the best player housing systems, where you can rotate, stack and combine items to make something totally unique.
For many PC players, that is a dream scenario. Not everyone wants to script entire game modes, but plenty of people love the idea of spending hours arranging furniture, designing intricate bases or building cinematic environments. Hytale seems to recognize this and is providing tools that support both simple decorating and deep custom game building.
On top of the building systems, Hytale is also introducing dedicated tools for machinima makers. The team has shown off a separate suite aimed at people who want to make in game videos. This is great news for content creators who love to tell stories, make fan films or shoot stylish gameplay clips.
These machinima tools could include things like:
- Camera controls for smooth shots and custom angles
- Timeline or scene tools to set up sequences
- Options for staging characters and environments just for filming
By building this directly into the game, Hytale makes it much easier for creators to produce high quality content without juggling mods or external tools. For streamers, YouTubers and short form video creators who focus on PC games, that could make Hytale a very attractive playground.
Why Modders and Tinkerers Should Keep an Eye on Hytale
The PC gaming community has a long history of turning strong mod tools into entire ecosystems. When modders focus on one platform, you get huge community projects, total conversions, map packs and entirely new experiences that extend a game’s life for years. The article points to the Quake community as one example of this, with massive collaborative projects built purely from fan passion.
Hytale is clearly trying to position itself as the next big hub for that kind of creativity. It offers:
- A familiar blocky, accessible visual style that does not intimidate newcomers
- Built in creation tools that go beyond simple world editing
- Support for multiple types of content such as levels, modes and machinima
- A developer team that already understands what creators want from years of running a huge Minecraft server network
The game’s journey to release has been rocky, including a period under Riot and then a return to its original vision. Now that it is heading into early access again under its co founder, the focus seems to be firmly back on empowering players.
For PC gamers, especially those who enjoy building, modding or just exploring wild custom servers, Hytale could end up being much more than another survival craft title. It has the potential to become a creative hub where the tools feel like part of the game, not just tacked on utilities.
If the final toolset is as intuitive as the early teasers suggest, we can expect:
- Custom adventure maps and mini games right after launch
- Community made genres that push Hytale far beyond its base survival mode
- A strong scene of content creators using machinima tools to produce series, shorts and cinematic showcases
With its release on PC planned for 2026’s lineup of new games, Hytale is one to watch if you are interested in the intersection of gaming, creativity and user generated content. Whether you are a veteran modder or someone who just likes to decorate a virtual home, its creation tools might give you a fresh digital sandbox to get lost in.
Original article and image: https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/a-dev-on-minecraft-like-hytale-has-already-used-its-creative-tools-to-make-a-homebrew-side-scroller/
