Minecraft lead dev says he'd "rather just play" Mojang's hit over Hytale, and its creator understands why — "He is probably right to feel this way"

One of the biggest new games out right now is Hytale, the heavily Minecraft-inspired block-based sandbox survival RPG from Hypixel Studios — the same team behind the Minecraft server of the same name that stands as one of the most popular in the world. Released into Early Access earlier this month on January 13 after a troubled development history, the game has quickly accrued a colossal following.

Notably, it's made waves big enough to reach the attention of Minecraft developer Mojang Studios' chief creative officer Jens "Jeb" Bergensten, who commented on the game earlier this week when asked if he's played it and what he thinks about it.

"I've played a little bit of Hytale," he told one user on Bluesky, before giving his full thoughts in a separate reply. "I'd like it to be more different to Minecraft. It's very polished, but the feeling I get when I play is that I'd rather just play Minecraft," he said. "It's very early, though, and I know modding will be an important aspect. I will definitely play more later."

You might expect Hytale's developers to feel disheartened by that impression, but Hypixel founder Simon Collins-Laflamme actually appreciates Bergensten's take and perspective, and is determined to keep developing and improving the game.

"Jebs saying Hytale feels very polished is the best compliment we could ever get," he wrote in a lengthy response on X (Twitter). "I know the genre very well, and I'm very critical of our own game — I agree with a lot of the negative feedback and take notes all day. I have been saying for months that Hytale still has a long way to go, and I still believe it, which is why I keep working every single day."

"Hearing that Jebs says he will come back to play again later is great, hopefully, to experience the true vision we have for Hytale," he added. "Respect to the Mojang team for playing, hopefully they understand the different vision a bit more and feel more comfortable with us being around!"

Collins-Laflamme went on to say that "I understand Jebs' sentiment when he says, 'I'd rather just play Minecraft,'" noting that the things that will distinguish Hytale from Mojang's juggernaut — "something new, more combat-adventure-based, exploration and fantasy-based" — aren't in the RPG yet.

"At this point, he is probably right to feel this way; we haven't had time to add all the features that make us unique, and the early-game experience we have is quite barebones compared to what we can do with World Gen V2 and other upcoming features," he explained. "We don't have instanced dungeons, bosses, quests, stories or anything right now. All of this is planned, and the good news is, we have the team for it."

Making something like this, Collins-Laflamme says, is what drives Hypixel to work on Hytale. "It's not to compete with or replace Minecraft; we just want something that resonates with us. Personally, grew up with Warcraft, Diablo, D&D, and all these amazing fantasy experiences. I wish my kids would feel the same way I did when I first stepped into these amazing fantasy worlds, and that it would spark their creativity as it did for me," he said.

Collins-Laflamme promises "you will see a major shift between Minecraft and Hytale as we expand our production of extensive modding tools, fantasy worlds, and much more," and notes "I also consider PvP quite important for us, so keep an eye on this in the future as well."

Ultimately, it sounds like Bergensten will get his wish for Hytale to stand out from Minecraft more; Hypixel's continued development of the former will aim to shape it into more of an action and adventure-forward RPG, while the latter is far more laid-back and focused on creative, sandbox-driven building.

Personally, I think the vision Hytale's devs have for the game sounds great, and I can't wait to see how it grows from here; you can buy the game from its website if you're interested in supporting it through Early Access and checking it out now.

What do you think of Hytale, and how it compares to Minecraft? Are you interested in the game, and are you looking forward to seeing where it goes from here? Let me know in the comments.

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