After miracle revival, Hytale head "now assembling a dedicated team" to satisfy fans of a key genre that's only grown since the Minecraft-inspired game's reveal: cozy and farming games like Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing

Hytale studio Hypixel has formed a dedicated team focused on cozy game mainstays like cooking, farming, and taking care of voxel animals.

Due to Hytale's, eh, turbulent development over some 10 years, which involved a sale to Riot and then a reacquisition by original owner Hypixel just recently, it's hard to say with any real certainty what the core gameplay loop will look like, but the original vision was a procedurally generated sandbox similar to Minecraft but with more RPG elements and player-generated content. Now, thanks to new comments from studio founder Simon Collins-Laflamme, we know it'll also have a big focus on life and farming simulation.

"In Hytale, if you're a cozy player who enjoys farming, building a cute home, caring for animals, cooking, and simply wants to escape the real world, we've got you covered," said Collins-Laflamme on Twitter. "We're now assembling a dedicated team focused entirely on bringing this vibe to life and creating a living world filled with warmth, charm, and good vibes."

In a follow-up response to a fan hoping for a hunger system similar to many survival games, Collins-Laflamme clarified that the cooking system in Hytale will operate more like "a buff mechanic a bit like Valheim," in which food you cook will grant "unique buffs."

The dev also hopes to add even more complexity to cooking where you'll have "activity-based meals like a mining stew for faster swings" and be able to "prep combat meals, feed NPC villages, get quality system tied with bonuses, or build food mastery."

With Hytale now in the hands of its original founders and developers, Hypixel has said it's focused on getting the project back on track and to a state worth an early access launch. It's unclear how long that'll take, but the most recent update is that it's "coming together at last" even if there's still a "long way to go."

Hytale will feature a "meaningful tribute" to Minecraft legend Technoblade: "He was a big part of our journey"