Hytale Creator Reveals How the Game’s Story Will Progress in Early Access

Hytale has been in the hands of Early Access adopters for a month now, offering a substantial hands-on experience with the game’s world, exploration, and combat. However, as substantial as this early look is, the narrative that serves as the game’s foundation is largely absent from the picture for the time being. During Early Access, players can really only take advantage of its Exploration and Creative modes, with the former revolving around Hytale‘s core gameplay and the latter granting access to in-depth creative tools. Its story-driven Adventure mode, on the other hand, is currently inaccessible, but there’s a reason for that.

In a recent post on X, Hypixel Studios founder Simon Collins-Laflamme explained why Hytale‘s primary story arc is still under wraps, and it largely has to do with the game’s development. Rather than launching with a fully fleshed-out storyline, Collins-Laflamme confirmed that story progression will come in the form of chapter-based updates centered around a developing arc known as the “Cursebreaker” story. What makes the story’s progress toward completion so endearing, though, is how Collins-Laflamme contextualized it as a “journey we share with the community.”

Hytale’s Story Progression Will Serve as a Sign of the Game’s Development

One of the key takeaways from Collins-Laflamme’s message is that Hytale‘s Early Access won’t feel like a traditional story-driven RPG from day one. The team isn’t planning to plunge players into deep, cinematic storytelling at launch—at least not immediately—but instead will drip narrative elements in through episodic chapters. This doesn’t mean Hytale is entirely devoid of story in its current state, as players can already encounter early lore elements like the Forgotten Temple and hints tied to the Cursebreaker arc during exploration. However, the anticipated Adventure Mode isn’t part of the launch build and is slated for a later 1.0 release.

“If you’ve been playing the Exploration Mode,” said Collins-Laflamme, “you’ve probably noticed that the curse is quiet at the moment. That will change as the first chapter begins, and you’ll need to make difficult choices that carry lasting consequences for the world around you, and yourself.” What makes that philosophy so interesting is that it means Hytale‘s story progress and the subsequent transformation of its world will be one of the clearest signs of the game’s development. As such, it means that players will essentially see the game’s narrative develop in real-time, as opposed to waiting for Hytale‘s Adventure Mode to be fully complete first.

“It’s a journey we share with the community,” he wrote, viewing the narrative rollout less like a traditional content release and more as a collective, evolving story that players experience together. “When it’s done, it becomes a memory for those who were there.” This ethos reflects how Hytale has been developed, with community feedback and involvement at the forefront, especially after the game’s turbulent path to Early Access. Originally in development for years, Hytale was canceled by Riot Games in mid-2025, only for Collins-Laflamme to reacquire the rights and reboot the project later that year. Early Access for Hytale then officially began on January 13, 2026.

For players, this announcement answers a big question about Hytale‘s Early Access roadmap. There will be narrative progression, but it will arrive incrementally. Players in the early months will see evolving content through chapters rather than a completed storyline. As the first chapter of the Cursebreaker story arc begins to roll out, early adopters can expect more environmental storytelling, emergent lore, and meaningful choices within the sandbox world of Orbis. While the full narrative of Hytale may still be months away, the journey toward it promises to be a defining aspect of the game’s Early Access era.