Ahead of its planned launch in 2021, Hypixel Studios, the studio behind the highly-anticipated RPGHytale, has today been acquired byLeague of LegendsandValorantdeveloper Riot Games.
The news of this acquisition was announced onRiot Games' websitetoday. Since 2018, Riot has been one of the primary angel investors of Hypixel Studios and has now apparently decided to just purchase the company outright.
“Over the last 18 months, we’ve been fortunate to advise Hypixel Studios as they build toward their vision for evolving a game genre that reaches an incredibly diverse range of players around the globe,” said Dylan Jadeja, President of Riot Games. “Now, as they prepare to enter the next chapter, we’re thrilled to take our partnership to the next level through this acquisition. We look forward to supporting Hypixel Studios’ journey through the development process, helping them grow, and learning from them as well.”
“Since our first meetings with Riot leadership long before their initial investment, we’ve found in Riot a partner with a similar commitment to empowering players,” explained Hypixel’s CEO Aaron ‘Noxy’ Donaghey. “As development kicks into high gear, we’ll benefit from Riot’s resources, expertise, and experience while maintaining the operational independence that has enabled our success so far.”
This acquisition is surely a dream come true for Hypixel Studios, as the studio has some very humble beginnings. Work onHytalespun out from a multiplayerMinecraftserver namedHypixelthat first launched in 2013. To date,Hypixelis said to have boasted 18 million players, which is pretty staggering. Now with the backing of Riot, Hypixel Studios can surely makeHytalethe game they’ve always dreamed of.
On Riot’s part, this purchase continues to show that the company once formerly known only forLeague of Legendsis really trying to expand its portfolio moving forward. Not only did Riot just release its multiplayer first-person shooterValorantin closed beta last week, but it also just announced theRiot Forgepublishing division a few months back. Through this publishing label, Riot has started to work with outside developers to create games based on itsLeague of Legends IP. To date,Ruined KingandConv/rgenceare the first two projects that have been announced to be in development.
Hytaleis set to release at an undetermined date in 2021 on PC and Mac. Whether or not this acquisition ends up changing development timelines for Hypixel Studios remains to be seen, but it surely continues to build even more hype to the game’s inevitable release.
