Latest news with #HypixelStudios
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Derry gaming company begins 'winding down' process
One of Northern Ireland's highest-profile gaming companies has announced it is winding down its operations. Founded in 2018 in Londonderry, Hypixel Studios first project was to be the block-based fantasy game Hytale. The Derry company was acquired in 2020 by Riot Games, one of the world's biggest game publishers. In a statement, Hypixel co-founder Aaron Donaghey said the company is ending Hytale's development and the winding down of Hypixel Studios is under way. "This is not the outcome any of us - at Hypixel or at Riot – wanted," Mr Donaghey said. "But after years of pushing forward, adapting, and exploring every possible path, it became clear we couldn't bring Hytale to life in a way that truly delivered on its promise," he added. The team of about 100 game developers – the majority of which are internationally based remote workers – will be "supported with generous severance and resources" by parent company Riot Games, Mr Donaghey said. Mr Donaghey said calling time on Hytale "is a painful decision". "We still believe in Hytale," Mr Donaghey said. "But after years of pushing forward, adapting, and exploring every possible path, it became clear we couldn't bring Hytale to life in a way that truly delivered on its promise." A YouTube trailer for the now abandoned game has been watched over 60 million times. He said the Hypixel server on Minecraft – which has had more than 18m visitors - is unaffected by the winding down of the studio. Game development, Mr Donaghey added, is "brutally hard". Professor Kevin Curran from Ulster University's school of computing, told BBC Radio Foyle that the gaming industry globally is seemingly affected by "a post pandemic correction". During Covid-19, he said, there had been a massive boom in "user engagement and revenue for games". "Games are incredibly complex and expensive to develop and can take five to seven years to develop a game. "A lot of gaming companies are restructuring and cutting staff and have been for a good while, " Prof Curran said. How the video games industry is booming in NI NI video games industry lifting off The homecoming call for NI's gaming industry
BBC News
25-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Hytale developer Hypixel Studios begins 'winding down'
One of Northern Ireland's highest-profile gaming companies has announced it is winding down its in 2018 in Londonderry, Hypixel Studios first project was to be the block-based fantasy game Derry company was acquired in 2020 by Riot Games, one of the world's biggest game a statement, Hypixel co-founder Aaron Donaghey said the company is ending Hytale's development and the winding down of Hypixel Studios is under way. "This is not the outcome any of us - at Hypixel or at Riot – wanted," Mr Donaghey said."But after years of pushing forward, adapting, and exploring every possible path, it became clear we couldn't bring Hytale to life in a way that truly delivered on its promise," he team of about 100 game developers – the majority of which are internationally based remote workers – will be "supported with generous severance and resources" by parent company Riot Games, Mr Donaghey Donaghey said calling time on Hytale "is a painful decision". "We still believe in Hytale," Mr Donaghey said."But after years of pushing forward, adapting, and exploring every possible path, it became clear we couldn't bring Hytale to life in a way that truly delivered on its promise."A YouTube trailer for the now abandoned game has been watched over 60 million said the Hypixel server on Minecraft – which has had more than 18m visitors - is unaffected by the winding down of the development, Mr Donaghey added, is "brutally hard". 'Complex and expensive' Professor Kevin Curran from Ulster University's school of computing, told BBC Radio Foyle that the gaming industry globally is seemingly affected by "a post pandemic correction".During Covid-19, he said, there had been a massive boom in "user engagement and revenue for games"."Games are incredibly complex and expensive to develop and can take five to seven years to develop a game."A lot of gaming companies are restructuring and cutting staff and have been for a good while, " Prof Curran said.
CNET
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CNET
Minecraft Competitor Hytale Shuts Down After a Decade of Development
Hypixel Studios is shutting down development of Hytale, its Minecraft-like sandbox creator game. The studio, a subsidiary of Riot Games, posted a blog post explaining that financial support wasn't enough to buoy the long development time. The game will not be released to the public. Hypixel Studios has long struggled with delivering on the initial vision for Hytale, and Riot Games' investment in the developer couldn't change the fact that the game had a troubled production. A blog post from Hypixel Studios explains that the development team couldn't keep up with the rising bar of contemporary sandbox gaming. "Over time, as our vision evolved and the genre matured around us, the bar kept rising," the post reads. "Our technical ambitions grew more complex, and even after a major reboot of the game engine, the team found that Hytale still wasn't as far along as it needed to be." The Hypixel Studios team formed in 2016, taking its name from the wildly-popular Minecraft mod and server it created. An initial investment from Riot Games helped the team broaden its ambition from mod-making to full-fledged game development. Riot Games bought the independent studio in 2020, furthering the gaming juggernaut's investment in the completion of Hytale's development cycle. Hypixel spoke about development difficulties in its post announcing the shuttering of development on Hytale. It's unclear what, if any, role Riot played in stopping work on the game, but Hypixel Studios' blog post mentions that Riot Games helped the developer look for other investors before ultimately choosing to end development of Hytale. "As we begin winding things down, [Riot is] ensuring our team is supported with generous severance and resources to help them find what's next," the post reads. "It's not just thoughtful -- it's human. And it shows a genuine effort to take care of the people behind the work." The Hypixel Minecraft server currently runs completely independently from Hypixel Studios, and will not be affected by the studio closure. The latest games industry layoffs continue a nasty trend, as the past several years have been rife with career instability. Over 10,500 games industry jobs were lost in 2023, with an additional 14,600 disappearing in 2024. The layoffs have continued at Hypixel Studios and elsewhere, with Microsoft rumored to be preparing for a sizable layoff next week, according to The Verge. Representatives for Riot Games and Hypixel Studios did not immediately respond for comment.
Belfast Telegraph
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Belfast Telegraph
NI game studio developing the ‘next Minecraft' announces they are ‘winding down'
Hypixel Studios – headquartered in the Patrick Street area of the city but with staff around the world working remotely – made the announcement on their website on Monday. The studio's CEO Aaron 'Noxy' Donaghey said the decision was 'incredibly tough news' and a 'painful decision'. Hypixel had been working on much-anticipated game Hytale for the last decade, having in 2020 been bought over and backed by Riot Games – one of the biggest gaming companies in the world based in Los Angeles. Billed by many in the industry as a potential successor to megahit game franchise Minecraft, Hytale's reveal trailer back in 2018 currently has 61 million views on YouTube. In his update on the studio's website, Mr Donaghey said: 'This is not the outcome any of us - at Hypixel or at Riot - wanted. "But after years of pushing forward, adapting, and exploring every possible path, it became clear we couldn't bring Hytale to life in a way that truly delivered on its promise. 'Game development is brutally hard - especially when you're trying to build something original that speaks to a creative, passionate community. Over time, as our vision evolved and the genre matured around us, the bar kept rising. "Our technical ambitions grew more complex, and even after a major reboot of the game engine, the team found that Hytale still wasn't as far along as it needed to be. "It became clear we'd need a lot more time to get it to a place where it could support the ambitious vision for the game. 'We looked at reducing scope, adjusting timelines, and finding new angles to keep moving forward. But each of those options would have meant compromising on what made Hytale special in the first place. "It wouldn't have been the game we set out to make. And it wouldn't have been the game you deserve. 'This is a painful decision. We still believe in Hytale. We believe in the team, and are forever grateful to every member, past or present, who poured their love into the game. "We're also incredibly proud of the work we did: the world we imagined, the risks we took, and the heart we poured into this project. None of that can be taken away. "And just to clarify - this doesn't affect the Hypixel server on Minecraft. It's run separately from Hypixel Studios and will continue to operate as usual. 'We're also deeply grateful to Riot - not just for the years of support and the opportunities they gave us, but for the care they're showing our team during this transition. News Catch Up - Monday 23rd June "They supported us in going out into the world to see if there were investors or acquirers who could continue to help carry Hytale forward. And now, as we begin winding things down, they're ensuring our team is supported with generous severance and resources to help them find what's next. "It's not just thoughtful - it's human. And it shows a genuine effort to take care of the people behind the work.'
The Verge
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Verge
Riot is shutting down studio behind its Minecraft-like game
Riot Games is closing the studio behind Hytale, its Minecraft-like game that has been in development for nearly a decade. Hypixel Studios, which Riot acquired in 2020 for an undisclosed sum, is shutting down 'over the next few months,' according to Hypixel CEO Aaron 'Noxy' Donaghey. 'After years of pushing forward, adapting, and exploring every possible path, it became clear we couldn't bring Hytale to life in a way that truly delivered on its promise,' says Donaghey in a post on X. 'This is a painful decision. We still believe in Hytale. We believe in the team, and are forever grateful to every member, past or present, who poured their love into the game.' Hytale has been in development since 2015, when Hypixel was founded as a small indie studio by members of a popular Minecraft server network. A trailer was released in late 2018, and Hypixel was supposed to deliver a beta of Hytale in 2021 following the Riot acquisition a year prior. That beta never arrived, and in 2021 there was a major change to the game engine powering Hytale that set development back. 'Our technical ambitions grew more complex, and even after a major reboot of the game engine, the team found that Hytale still wasn't as far along as it needed to be,' says Donaghey. 'It became clear we'd need a lot more time to get it to a place where it could support the ambitious vision for the game.' The Hypixel closure won't affect the Hypixel server on Minecraft, which is run separately from Hypixel Studios. Despite the studio closure, Donaghey says he's 'deeply grateful to Riot' and that the team is being 'supported with generous severance and resources to help them find what's next.'
