Hytale and Minecraft developers once agreed: the two games needed to carve out more distinct differences. Now, that shift is finally beginning to materialize.
Simon Collins-Laflamme, founder of Hypixel Studios, recalled that Minecraft Chief Creative Officer Jens "Jeb" Bergensten once encouraged Hytale to find its own unique identity.
Hytale recently provided a comprehensive look at its future roadmap, and the direction is clear: it is no longer content to stay in the shadow of Minecraft. Since the team at Hypixel Studios originated from the Minecraft modding community, comparisons were almost inevitable; however, the first chapter preview reaffirms that the two projects are heading down vastly different paths.
Hytale Game Director Simon Collins-Laflamme recalled that he and Minecraft CCO Jens "Jeb" Bergensten actually shared the same view on this. Shortly after the game was introduced, Jeb responded to a question about Hytale on Bluesky: "I wish it was more different from Minecraft. It's very polished, but my feeling when playing it is that I'd probably rather just play Minecraft. Of course, it's still very early, and I know the modding capabilities will be very important; I'll definitely keep checking it out."
At the time, Collins-Laflamme thanked Bergensten for his feedback, stating that "very polished" was the best compliment they could have received. He also agreed: if Hytale could not distance itself from Minecraft, it would be difficult to justify its own existence. Following the latest blog post, he revisited the topic: "He was right, and that was my response at the time. The content that truly makes us unique hadn't been added to the game yet."
"People will always compare Hytale and Minecraft, but we don't want to make the same type of game," Collins-Laflamme stated. With the reveal of Hytale's first chapter, this has become much more intuitive. "Yesterday's blog post already showed what this means for the future."
He further explained: "Hand-crafted dungeons, multi-stage boss fights, combat abilities, rune forging, world events, companions that participate in the crafting loop, and much more. We want to be a deeper role-playing game, shape a more distinct adventure experience, and continue to evolve on a massive scale for years to come. We just happen to be a block-based game, and we are only just getting started."
This differentiation is an ideal outcome for both games: they can coexist while offering entirely different experiences. A similar trend is emerging in other voxel titles; for instance, Everwind leans closer to the fantasy RPG atmosphere of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, while Vintage Story emphasizes more rigorous survival themes. The voxel art style does not necessarily dictate a game's mechanics. Compared to Hypixel Studios simply attempting to build a "more modern" Minecraft, the direction Hytale is now taking is clearly much more exciting.
