Hytale
Hytale is an upcoming sandbox game by Hypixel Studios. Production began in 2015 by developers from the "Minecraft" multiplayer server "Hypixel" with funding and assistance from Riot Games, who later acquired the studio in 2020. It is planned to be released for PC, consoles, and mobile devices by 2023. Gameplay. "Hytale" features a procedurally-generated fantasy world composed of blocks of numerous shapes arranged in a three-dimensional grid, featuring different randomly generated biomes, creatures, and dungeons. Players can participate in minigames similar to those found on the "Hypixel" server. Players will be able to build and share mods  and custom content using a set of browser-based and in-game tools. "Hytale" includes several procedurally-generated areas of the world known as "zones", made up of many biomes and mobs. This mode will feature RPG-styled combat and include dynamic boss encounters and dungeon exploration. "Hytale" will feature block-based construction and includes many different world editing and cinematic tools players can use in-game. It will feature a scripting system that allows players to create and execute code in-game, as well as a web-based 3D modeling, texturing, and animation toolkit based on CraftStudio which players  can use to create custom assets for the game. The game will feature both official and community-run servers with the ability to implement custom features and minigames including player versus player (PvP) games. Development. "Hytale" is being developed by Hypixel Studios for PC, consoles, and mobile devices. Directed by Aaron Donaghey, the Northern Ireland-based studio consists of over forty employees who split off from Hypixel Inc., the company behind the development of the Hypixel server in "Minecraft". Development of "Hytale" started in early 2015. The idea for "Hytale" arose due to EULA changes by Mojang in 2014 which  blocked servers from having microtransactions that affected gameplay, leading to an 85% drop in the Hypixel server's revenue. The developers realized they were not in control of their project and decided to make their own stand-alone game. They originally wanted to avoid making a voxel-based game, but eventually decided to do so as they had experience in that genre from the Hypixel server in "Minecraft". Hypixel Studios was at first self-financed with revenue generated by the Hypixel server. The studio subsequently received support from Riot Games, which invested several million dollars in the studio, along with  an advisory group that includes businessmen Dennis Fong, Rob Pardo, and Peter Levine. The studio was fully acquired by Riot Games in April 2020. "Hytale" was announced via a trailer in December 2018, with it amassing over 31 million views within a month. The developers originally stated that the game was planned to be playable in 2021, later saying in July 2021 that due to the scope of the game being expanded, it was now planned to be released in 2023. Reception. Prior to release, the game was nominated in the most wanted game category at the 2019 Golden Joystick  Awards but lost to "Cyberpunk 2077". The game was also named the most anticipated at the 2021 Northern Ireland Game Awards.