After seven years of waiting, the Hytale launch times and release date are almost here, a moment that wasn't quite so certain only a few months ago. For those unaware, development began in 2015 with funding from Riot Games, who would go on to acquire the team in 2020, only to pull the plug in June 2025, then be revived by its original founder in November.

Even after all this time, it's safe to say that there are a lot of people eager to check out what this crack team of Minecraft modders has been up to. Below I'll go over the Hytale launch times in your region so you know if you need to book the day off work or call in sick.

When is the Hytale unlock time?

Based on the official countdown, Hytale launches at 7 am PST on Tuesday, January 13, finally letting everyone get their hands on the game after seven long years of waiting. It launches simultaneously across all regions (and there's no advanced access), but take note that Hytale's early access is only available on Windows PCs right now—Mac and Linux support is coming later.

Here are the full Hytale unlock times for major time zones across the globe:

• Pacific: 7 am PST
• Eastern: 10 am EST
• UK: 3 pm GMT
• Europe: 4 pm CET
• Australia: 2 am AEDT (Wednesday, January 14)
• New Zealand: 4 am NZDT (Wednesday, January 14)

Since Hytale's not available on Steam during early access, you'll need the dedicated Hytale Launcher, which you can already download before release. I also recommend you make an account while you're at it, just in case there are any server or site issues when the clock strikes go.

You can also currently pre-order three editions of Hytale, each with different bonus clothing items:

• Standard ($23.99): Voyager, Savanna, and Forest Guardian cosmetic sets, including the Forest Guardian Cape.
• Supporter ($41.99): Includes everything from the Standard edition plus the Featherbound, Scavenger, and Arctic Scout sets, each with their capes, as well as the Knight Cape and Explorer Goggles.
• Cursebreaker Founder's Edition ($83.99): All items and sets from both the Standard and Supporter editions, plus an additional four cosmetic sets (Hope of Gaia, Void Hero, Pop Star, Voidbearer) and two additional exclusive capes (Royal Emmissary, New Beginning).

Is there preloading for Hytale?

Unfortunately, no, you can't preload Hytale. However, as I mentioned, you can already download the game's launcher, and I recommend doing that in advance; the founder of Hypixel, Simon Collins-Laflamme, explains that it expects "over 1 million players on the early access release day", urging everyone to "download the launcher today and log in now to help us significantly reduce launch-day stress."

According to the hardware requirements, Hypixel recommends you have 20 GB of free space for Hytale, so it looks like it will be a relatively small, quick download anyhow.