Riot Games buys studio that makes Minecraft-like game Hytale

Riot Games, creator of League of Legends and the unofficially released Valorant, has acquired Hypixel Studios. This independent developer is working on Hytale, a sandbox game that will have some necessary similarities with Minecraft.

Hypixel Studios reports that it has been acquired by Riot Games, but will maintain its independent status and will continue to operate in the same way as before. Riot Games will become the parent company of Hypixel Studios, which also means that the company will have more financial options. The acquisition means that Hypixel Studios will now open its first physical office in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. This office will serve as a back office and will accommodate tasks related to quality assurance. After the announcement of the takeover, the necessary new vacancies appeared on the Hypixel Studios website. It is not known what amount Riot Games has paid for the takeover.

Riot Games describes the acquisition as an extension of a long-term partnership with Hypixel Studios. Several Hypixel Studios employees previously worked at Riot, and the independent studio was founded in 2018 after an investment from the League of Legends creator, among others. Hypixel Studios emerged from a group of Minecraft mod makers.

Since 2015, the former mod makers have been working on Hytale, a game that Riot describes as combining the size of a creative sandbox with the depth of an RPG. Hytale is a project that involves converting a Minecraft server with an mmo concept into an rpg. The game also includes mini-games and players have the option to create their own world. Hytale is set to be released in 2021 and ultimate responsibility for the game still rests with Hypixel. The existing Hypixel Minecraft server with custom games will continue to exist.