Hytale's 1st FAQ
Hi, I'm Patrick 'Lyall' Derbic, and I'm the Executive Director of Hytale. I'm here today to answer some of the most common questions we've seen online.
So without further ado, let's get right into it:
Will Hytale be on Steam?
No, not initially. We want to spend our time in Early Access working with the community and improving the game, rather than overindexing on negative reviews from players that aren't as well-informed yet about what we are doing. Steam is a great marketing tool but one that we might never need. This doesn't mean we will never be on Steam - just that we do not see the necessity of it yet.
Is there a console version of Hytale?
No, the early access of Hytale will only be on PC (MAC and Linux still TBD). We are planning for a console release at a later stage, but this requires a lot of work on backend systems to make this a reality. For now, we would like to focus on making a good game first.
Can I play Hytale on Mobile?
There will be no mobile version of Hytale for Early Access. We are still evaluating what it would take to make this a feasible reality and will keep you updated once we know more.
What is in each game edition?
While the content of the editions will soon be revealed, I can already share that we are planning to expand the content of each edition, even the Standard Edition, over time during the Early Access. While you are running around in-game, helping us make the game better every day, we need to make sure that you look good doing so :)
Can I upgrade my edition later?
Yes! If you didn't already purchase the Cursebreaker Edition, you will be able to upgrade your game edition at a later stage and only pay the difference between your old and new editions.
How long are these editions available?
These editions and its content will only be available during our Early Access period.
Can I gift Hytale to friends and family?
We haven't implemented a gifting feature yet, but are working hard to get it completed as soon as possible. That said, I currently doubt that we will have it ready by the time the game releases into early access. As soon as it's finished, we will let you know.
Is there a pre-purchase bonus?
No. Considering the state of the game, we don't think this would be fair to our players who would rather wait until the game is ready for them. Also, we are generally not a big fan of artificially creating a "fear of missing out" that comes with a pre-purchase bonus.
Will Hytale support regional pricing?
We are actively working with our partner to get this working for a limited number of countries to start with. I cannot promise that we'll get it done in time for the pre-purchase but we are doing our best to make it happen.
As we've been very uncertain about us accomplishing this in time for a while, we've initially reduced the price of the Standard Edition to 19.99 USD across the globe. This should hopefully make it easier to get into the game even if we won't have prices regionalized yet.
We haven't forgotten about our communities in all the different regions around the world and are working hard to make regional pricing possible for them as soon as we can.
Will there be pets and animal taming?
These features are not yet ready, but are planned for the game, yes.
Is there a fishing system on release?
Unfortunately not yet - we are still working on an interesting design for it (no pressure Zumulus).
Will Hytale have a voice proximity chat?
We are close to having a system like it working, but it won't be ready for the early access release. Our focus on the tech side is to make sure the game doesn't have any known crashes and as little annoying bugs as possible.
Will there be cosmetics you can purchase to support Hytale's development?
At this time, you can get special avatar cosmetics through the early access editions.
We may offer extra cosmetics later once the game is in a better state or when we introduce minigames. One thing is for sure: when it comes to monetization, we will never add P2W options. Official cosmetics will stay fair and balanced, and we will keep adding free cosmetics over time.
This approach helps keep the base price low, grow the community, and cover long term costs like updates, live services, and minigame infrastructure. Official avatar cosmetics is the one area we reserve for ourselves for now, though we might involve the community later.
That being said, modders can still create visual mods such as furniture, pets, hats, and avatar cosmetics. As these aren't official content of the game, any player who wants to see these cosmetics needs to have the mod installed. We would like to prevent mods from overriding our official cosmetics and causing confusion for all players, so please be respectful of this.
Third-party servers are allowed to override cosmetics to match their theme, or to sell their own cosmetics for their server only to cover their costs. However, we ask servers to continue supporting the official cosmetics, as this helps us keep developing tools, assets, and updates for them.
In the future, we may also work directly with artists who do well so they can sell their work in the official in-game store. This is a long term goal and not something we can promise today. Our focus is on making a good game and supporting the community without turning the experience into a shopping mall.
Will the game be available in my local language?
Initially, Hytale will only be available in English, but the game is already built with localization in mind. We had a very good experience with Crowdin, so with the community's help, we can create an amazing localized experience for everyone. Maybe a few of you even want to bring back Pirate-Speak… YARRRR!!
Does Hypixel take a cut from my Third-party server?
As Simon already mentioned publicly, we are taking 0% for the first 2 years from any Third-party server or modder who wants to monetize their work.
That doesn't mean there are no costs at all. Please still account for monetization platform fees, payment provider fees, etc.
What happens after 2 years?
We can't yet promise you a specific percentage, as it will depend on many factors. What we can already say today is that our percentage cut won't ever exceed 20%. If things go our way, we will never even reach the 20% though.
In an ideal scenario, a third-party server is self-sustaining, has its own infrastructure, creates great content for the playerbase, has its own moderation and has fair and transparent monetization. A server like that would need little to no attention from us and therefore benefit from a much lower percentage.
At a later date, if we decide to offer hosting and moderation to partners, then the percentage might be higher.
How do you combat scalpers for unique usernames or those belonging to a well-known person?
If someone is squatting on a username for the sole purpose of reselling, trading, ransom or maliciously blocking others from getting that name, we will reclaim the name as stated in our ToS and EULA.
So if you are someone who is currently saving a lot of money, thinking you can buy up names to extort a few content creators, I'm sorry to have ruined your day!
Can I support my favourite content creator?
If they participate in our Creator Program, you can use their code at checkout. While it won't give you any benefits directly, the person you are supporting will be grateful, as it will allow them to create more of their excellent content for you and many others!
Who can participate in the Creator Program?
Anyone who regularly creates Hytale content (videos, music, mods, art, streams, etc) can sign up. We understand that Hytale hasn't been released yet, but you can still apply if you are doing general gameplay videos and are planning to cover Hytale as well. The vetting process might take a while, as we are expecting a lot of signups once the program goes live.
How much do I get as part of the Creator Program?
The sale % you receive from your code will be 5% initially, until we recoup the cost of the game's development. Afterwards, we plan to raise it to 7%. These percentages are the same across all creators - nobody gets a special deal. There is currently no plan to increase the rate, as we are trying to keep the game's price low while also sustaining the company and the team.
Modders can also participate in the program, which creates a much better environment for free mods.
Both initial purchases and edition upgrades will be eligible. This will also apply to future cosmetics additions.
WHAT COMES NEXT
We'll continue to share updates in the coming days! If you have any further questions, please feel free to tweet @Hytale with #AskHytale or join our Discord !
