Mango

It’s rare in life to know when a chapter is closing, but after 38 years at Microsoft, that moment has arrived for me. I’ve made the decision to retire and begin the next chapter of my life. It’s a milestone that’s given me a chance to reflect on the incredible journey I’ve been fortunate enough to share with so many of you.

good morning

We are delivering on our promise and releasing Hytale into Early Access on January 13, 2026, with all the consequences that come with that decision. In just a few weeks, we merged roughly 300 branches, modernized a four-year-old code & asset base, scaled the team from 8 people to 50 core developers plus ~250 helping hands, tracked close to 1,000 bugs and fixed hundreds of them, added Mac and Linux support, and built an Exploration Mode that simply did not exist before. When we started the mission to save Hytale, we made a clear promise: Launch without any delays, at any cost. We are keeping that promise, even though it is a herculean task. In an alternate timeline, the most intelligent production decision would be to delay launch by 3-4 months, complete the obvious work in front of us, and avoid the overhead and distractions of maintaining a live product. The game would objectively be better on day one. That is not what we are doing. Moving this fast also comes with very real downsides, and you have already seen them. We make visible progress every week, sometimes so much that key community members work overtime to keep up with the news - but you have also seen us drop the ball. Some concrete examples: 1- Name reservations were intended to reward longtime fans. Still, we lacked sufficient time and information to verify the email list's integrity, and some longtime fans were missing from it. 2- The username generator produced unintended results, and our name filters failed to catch some unacceptable cases. 3- The payment system continues to report issues. 4- Communication regarding avatar customization, Steam release, modding, and pricing was insufficiently detailed, leading to misinterpretation or confusion. 5- Blog posts and technical write-ups have landed on an unpredictable schedule. 6- Game server providers, server owners, creators, and business inquiries are not receiving responses as quickly as we would like or as they deserve. This is the tradeoff we all have to accept: You can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs. We wish we had more time to double-check every step and spend more time on communication, but that time comes at a steep opportunity cost. Extra polishing reduces the overall impression of Hytale on January 13. Our primary focus is the game. The team is in a constant release cycle. Every week until launch is tightly scheduled, and we are doing this with a core team of around 50 people assembled in weeks, not a massive AAA organization. That means we are taking hundreds of calculated risks every day. Most pay off. A small fraction doesn’t - and when they don’t, the impact is very evident. If I could ask for one thing from the community, it’s this: Please keep reminding each other what this pace implies - especially newer players who were not around for the #SaveHytale moment and may not know what the Early Access experience is meant to be for us. Some people will not be able to get their desired username. Some will run into payment issues. Some information will arrive later than it ideally should. This is not because we don’t know better; it’s because we are choosing to keep a promise. For us, Early Access success looks like this: you start a world, and the first impression and immersion leave you thinking, “This is much better than they said.” After more time, you also start to see the rough edges - and still end your first day thinking, “This game has a lot of potential. I’ll come back and keep up with updates,” or get you inspired to get into making maps, content, mods or a minigame server. As you will be playing through the first week of Hytale, we will already follow up with the first patch. We will release updates rapidly in the first few weeks, with pre-releases available more frequently. You start on the 4-year-old archeology project, but within months, you will find yourself in a flow of rapid development, previously unthinkable. We appreciate that the community has high expectations for Hytale, but please remember that we are fulfilling a promise we made early on: to release as soon as possible. That is what the core community asked for. Our biggest fear right now is not criticism - it’s that the story of #SaveHytale gets forgotten during Early Access, and the team ends up wishing we had simply delayed those extra four months instead of keeping our word.

Hytale pre-purchase starts tomorrow, December 13, around 10:00 AM EST. For the first time, Hytale will be funded directly by the community. ❤️ We’ve got a long road ahead to get Hytale where it needs to be, and soon, you can be part of that journey. Thank you.

@dontreadthisxd @HytaleNewsYT I signed up back in 2019, and I believe I re-subbed when they sent out the emails.

The Hytale name reservation rollout has started!

@thfcAlex3 @HytaleNewsYT I was subbed to the Hytale Beta waaayy back. I got this email from Riot giving me a token.

@OMGItsMango_ @HytaleNewsYT did u get a token just from being subbed to the Hytale newsletter, or from the other stuff a while back?

See you in @Hytale!

LANDO NORRIS IS THE 2025 FORMULA 1 WORLD CHAMPION!!!! 🏆 #F1 #AbuDhabiGP

Hytale Early Access JANUARY 13, 2026

Hytale will be $19.99 (USD)

After evaluating multiple offers, we’ve reached an agreement to return Hytale to @simon_hypixel, giving this community its best shot at experiencing a revised version of the game. Wishing the team the best of luck for what’s ahead.

We did it. Hytale is saved. We have acquired Hytale from Riot Games.

Rest in Peace Roscoe Hamilton, a true star in his own right ✨ Lewis Hamilton’s beloved Roscoe brought smiles to the paddock and warmed the hearts of fans all over the world. Our thoughts are with Lewis during this difficult time. Rest easy Roscoe, from paddock pup to Dogue icon, thank you for the pawprints you left on all of our hearts 🐾♥️

All eyes on 2026 👀 Our driver line-up is locked in @valtteribottas @schecoperez 🔒 Read more: cadillacf1team.com

I’m in active discussions with Riot Games about acquiring Hytale. Updates will be limited for now as we work through it. Thank you for believing in Hytale. Simon

An open letter to @riotgames @Noxywoxy @ItsBuddhaCat @JLtZD

today is the only day you can retweet this Nintendo Switch, thank you for all the incredible memories!

Move over @CWOA! Our other winged goddess named Hyperia has given birth to 13 adorable ducklings. So far we've named: Mack, Chief and Merlin, 10 to go! Pop your suggestions below and we'll pick our favourites ✨

DREAMS DO COME TRUE 🤙