Minecraft's lead dev says Hytale is 'very polished' but he'd rather just play Minecraft, and Hytale boss says he's 'probably right'—for now

A passing glance will tell you there's a lot of Minecraft DNA in Hytale, so much so that it only took a week for a modder to cobble together functional crossplay between the two games. Minecraft developer Mojang certainly seems aware of the resemblance: In a post on Bluesky, lead Minecraft designer and Mojang CCO Jens Bergensten said Hytale is "very polished" but he'd "like it to be more different," as its current state leaves him feeling that he'd "just rather play Minecraft."

Simon Collins-Laflamme, founder and CEO of Hytale developer Hypixel, has since acknowledged Bergensten's feedback with a surprisingly candid response on X, saying the lead Mojang dev is "probably right" to prefer a full-featured Minecraft to Hytale's early days—but he hopes his studio's plans for Hytale's future will eventually change that assessment.

Calling Bergensten's comment about Hytale's level of polish "the best compliment we could ever get," Collins-Laflamme—himself a Minecraft modder with over a decade of experience—reiterated his respect for Mojang's work, saying he hopes "they understand the different vision a bit more and feel more comfortable with us being around."

Meanwhile, Collins-Laflamme says he shares many of the criticisms about Hytale's early access launch state—including Bergensten's.

"I understand Jens' sentiment when he says, 'I'd rather just play Minecraft.' At this point, he is probably right to feel this way," Collins-Laflamme said. "We haven't had time to add all the features that make us unique, and the early-game experience we have is quite barebones compared to what we can do with World Gen V2 and other upcoming features."

The "good news," he says, is that Hypixel has both the plans and the talent to make Hytale into a game all its own. Since its surprise resurrection in November, Hypixel has plotted out an ambitious scope for the Hytale it hopes to make, aiming for improved, expanded world generation and eventual implementation of an adventure mode with RPG mechanics.

"Many of us want something new, more combat-adventure-based, exploration and fantasy-based, and this is why we are making and playing Hytale," Collins-Laflamme. "It's not to compete with or replace Minecraft; we just want something that resonates with us."

In the years ahead, he says, we'll see "a major shift between Minecraft and Hytale as we expand our production of extensive modding tools, fantasy worlds, and much more." It's a big promise. We'll have to see whether Hytale delivers.