Hytale's original developer, Simon Collins-Laflamme, bought back the rights to the Minecraft-like after Riot Games abruptly shuttered both the game and its developer, but he's not expecting to make that investment back anytime soon, despite renewed interest in the Hytale name.
Speaking about Hytale's revival on social media, Collins-Laflamme said that he was working to "keep the base price as low as possible so more of you can play Hytale." But nailing down a price tag is tricky since the new/old owner also needs to consider "the buyback price, legal fees, and production costs."
Reacquiring the Hytale name doesn't sound like it came cheap, either. "You are underestimating how much I put into this," he tells one fan. "I'm not going to recoup what I put into this for a long time, even with all the renewed attention and that's fine. Don't worry about me, let's take care of the team first."
Earlier this summer, Collins-Laflamme also stated that he offered Riot Games ten times what Hytale's "true market value is." How much the acquisition totalled, or what the terms of the offer were, isn't publicly known, however.
Either way, there's no indication that Riot Games was generous when parting with the blocky sandbox RPG and it's unlikely that Collins-Laflamme will be swimming in profit for the foreseeable future. Well, unless Hytale somehow manages to become another Minecraft-level success, that is.
