Riot continues to expand beyond League by acquiring studio behind Minecraft-like game
Riot is continuing to expand beyond League of Legends with the acquisition of a new studio. Today, the developer announced that it has acquired Hypixel Studios, the team behind Hytale, an upcoming Minecraft-like adventure game. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
“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,” Riot president Dylan Jadeja said in a statement. “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.”
For its first decade of existence, Riot was focused entirely on one game with League of Legends. But last October, the studio announced a huge expansion, which included launching a publishing label, releasing League spinoffs like Legends of Runeterra, and moving in new directions like fighting games and animated shows. Perhaps most notable is Valorant, an upcoming team-based shooter that recently launched in closed beta, breaking a number of Twitch viewership records along the way.
Hytale — which looks to blend the sandbox elements of Minecraft with roleplaying elements — appears to fit neatly into this plan of moving to new genres and properties. The game is expected to launch in November 2021, and the developer says 2.5 million people have already registered to join the beta. “It’ll help the studio take another leap forward in our journey from mod team to professional developers,” Hypixel co-founder Simon Collins-Laflamme says of the deal, “and allows the team to realize our vision for Hytale.”
Riot is continuing to expand beyond League of Legends with the acquisition of a new studio. Today, the developer announced that it has acquired Hypixel Studios, the team behind Hytale, an upcoming Minecraft-like adventure game. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. “Over the last 18 months, we’ve been fortunate…
