Hytale releases server source code and assets in Shared Source Programme

Hytale has announced a Shared Source programme, opening up the full server source code to select creators. The server source code features the game’s network protocol and all Hytale assets, including unreleased material that never shipped, to players and developers.

How Hytale’s Server Source Code Programme works

Access works similarly to Epic’s Unreal Engine model. Those with a valid game licence, who accept the programme terms, will receive an invite to Hytale’s GitHub organisation where they can view, clone and download the repository.

The source jar will also be published to Maven, allowing developers to browse the code directly inside their IDE. Full details and sign-up are available on the game’s website if you want to participate.

Updates will ship with every release and pre-release via an automated CI/CD pipeline, with a branch pushed for each. Individual commits and author data have been stripped to protect the team’s privacy and keep the internal development workflow out of the public history.

Hypixel also stated that it’s limited at the moment, thanks to a few reasons. One is that it wants its major server creators and modders to have access first, especially those it trusts and knows. The other is that GitHub pull requests will be a nightmare to manage in the age of AI coding, with developers able to learn the source code’s functions, interactions and scale, then write and submit code fast through tickets, branch merges and other requests.

If that were to happen, the devs would essentially be sitting there managing UGC work and reviewing every request that comes through, which ultimately eats into dev time making the actual game.

There are also legal factors at play. Hypixel does not want the likes of Xbox’s Minecraft devs taking a peek, or any other voxel-type game out there having a deep dive. The end result also pulls community developers out of the decompilation gray zone they’ve been operating in, both in terms of developer experience and legal standing, as it creates a licence that can operate alongside the source code.

But, those who do get access might finally be able to make the ideas they always wanted to.

Many servers have shut down since the January launch, citing various issues with developing custom servers and modes for Hytale. We covered the likes of that popular CoD-like server which was a pretty robust creation.

Now, if you’re a proper creator, you might finally be able to code the backend and server features you need to run the servers you initially dreamed of. It will certainly get interesting, and perhaps marks a turning point in Hytale’s development six months on from release.