Hytale is the block-building adventure game from Hypixel Studios, founded by the people behind the Hypixel Minecraft server network. Its road to players was long: announced in 2018, it was picked up by Riot Games in 2020 and cancelled in June 2025. Months later, co-founder Simon Collins-Laflamme bought the game back from Riot, and Hytale opened in early access on Windows in January 2026, sold through its own website.

Early access launched with Exploration and Creative modes and full modding support, with Adventure mode and official minigames planned to follow. That put community servers at the center of the game from the first day: they are where players find custom adventures, minigames and communities beyond what the base game offers.

Built for Servers From Day One

Hytale was designed with community servers in mind. Server owners run the game's own server software and can extend it with plugins written in Java, so anyone who has built plugins for Minecraft servers will feel at home. Mods are installed on the server and sent to players automatically when they connect, which means a server can offer new creatures, items, blocks and whole game modes without asking you to install anything.

In the base game you explore a procedurally generated world full of distinct zones, creatures and dungeons, gather resources, craft gear and fight with weapons and magic, or switch to Creative mode and build with a full set of tools. Servers take those pieces and turn them into survival communities, build servers, minigame hubs and custom RPGs.

What to Look For in a Hytale Server

What Kind of Server It Is

Hytale servers already split into recognizable types: exploration and survival servers with shared worlds, creative servers for builders, minigame networks with quick rounds, and RPG servers with custom quests and progression. Decide which you want before you start joining, since the same game can feel completely different from one to the next.

Custom Content and Performance

Because mods arrive automatically, a server's content is only as good as the team behind it. Look for original work that fits together rather than a pile of downloaded mods, and watch how the server runs when it is busy. Heavy mod lists can mean long joins and lag on crowded servers.

Handling Early Access Updates

Hytale is still changing quickly, and updates can break plugins or change how worlds generate. Ask how a server deals with that: whether it announces downtime, keeps your builds and progress through updates, or plans resets. A team that communicates clearly through big patches is a team that intends to stay.

Rules, Moderation and Protection

Look for clear rules, active moderators and chat filtering, especially if younger players are part of the community. On survival and build servers, check how land is protected from griefing and how disputes are settled.

Ranks and Store

Many servers fund themselves with ranks and a store. Cosmetics, pets and convenience perks are a fair deal; ranks that sell better gear, faster progression or power in competitive modes are not. Read what each rank actually includes before you pay for one.

Getting Started

Buy and install Hytale from the official website, then try a few servers of the type you prefer, using the server address from its Discord or listing. Give a server a few sessions before you commit, and keep an eye on its announcements as early access updates arrive. The ranking below lists the Hytale servers players vote for here. Vote for the server you play on - rankings start again every month, which suits a game that is still changing quickly.