Update, 12 October: Chapter 1 is out. Hypixel Studios published the release notes today under the full name Chapter I: Out of the Breach, and this post now follows them: the final Runestone list, the dungeon's name, Minigames, and what the update does to an existing world.
Update, 16 October 2026: Taf the penguin won Simon's $15,000 Gobliterator challenge. Minigames still have no launch announcement. Hotfix 0.7.2 is out, and the server steps below now say which version to run.
Hytale Chapter 1 released on 12 October 2026, the first big content update since Early Access began in January. It brings the game's first handcrafted dungeon and its first multi-phase boss, the Gobliterator, plus Goblin Breaches, Rune Abilities, a chapter screen that tracks your progress and, as a late addition, Minigames. Your server needs the new version before anyone on the updated client can join it.
What's in the update
Chapter 1 is also called Update 7. Most of it was playable in pre-release from 3 September, in five waves, so the detail below comes from the release notes and the pre-release patch notes before them. By the studio's own count the update adds over 20 new and reimagined NPCs, 15 Runestones, 7 tools and gadgets, 2 portal worlds and over 100 cosmetic options.
The goblin dungeon and the Gobliterator
The headline is Hytale's first handcrafted dungeon, named the Deepworks in the release notes, and everything else in the chapter leads up to it. Its rooms mix goblin hordes, flames and falling debris to dodge, puzzles and checkpoints. The elite Feastmaster blocks the way as a first boss ("He's more nimble than he looks"), and the Gobliterator, a scrap-built goblin mech, waits at the end as the game's first multi-phase boss fight.
Its phases, wave spawns and arena changes run on the Encounter Manager, the system the studio says lets its designers build encounters as content rather than engine code, "and so can you". That last part matters for modded servers: the same tools are open to creators.
For anyone who wants it harder, the release notes point at "that ominous-looking button to the left of the boss chamber entrance". Hypixel founder Simon Collins-Laflamme also put a prize on the fight. On 24 September, replying to the date announcement, he posted that he will donate $15,000 "to the first streamer who kills the Gobliterator boss in hard mode, no armor, no potion, no glitch, in hardcore mode (you can use iron weapons available in Exploration Mode)". The run has to be streamed so the VOD can be checked. Taf the penguin claimed it: the official challenge site now names the streamer as the winner and says submissions are closed.
Goblin Breaches
Breaches begin "after a few nights have passed, or after an Avatar investigates the disturbance within the Forgotten Temple". Each one opens a temporary portal somewhere in your world, which you find by looking around or on the world map. Step through and you land in "an unstable fragment of Orbis that the goblins have claimed", in a new biome called the Guttering Hollows.
The space regenerates each time you enter, and the Void eventually pushes you out. You can earn more time by fighting the Void back and by upgrading the Goblin Breach Console in the Forgotten Temple's new Goblin Lab. Inside you will find:
- predators you can track and trap
- Void assassins
- treasure chests that spring enemy waves on you when you go for the loot
- puzzles
- hunts, which need a Voidheart and now have their own icon on the world map
Rune Abilities
Runestones give your Avatar active combat abilities. You craft them from Runestone Shards found through the chapter, two shards for an Ability Runestone and one for a Modifier Runestone, then slot them into a Runebinder's Lattice. There is one in the Forgotten Temple. The Ability Runestone decides which ability you get, and the Modifier Runestone changes how it behaves. You can equip up to two abilities, and they spend mana, which regenerates over time.
The release has 15 Runestones:
- Abilities (7): Chain Hook, Charged Shot, Enrage, Fireball, Ground Slam, Imbue Poison and Wind Strike
- Modifiers (8): Colossal, Enduring, Quickening, Rebound, Rend, Splinter, Thrift and Wither
The abilities match the 1 October pre-release. The modifier list does not: the pre-release had Expansion, Extended Duration, Fork and Ricochet, so guides written before launch may name modifiers the release does not have. The studio says of the launch set: "This is only the introduction."
Goblins and their gadgets
The goblin faction has been reworked around the chapter: the Scrapper, Miner, Guardian, Lobber, Burner and the elite Feastmaster, who calls in reinforcements mid-fight. Not every goblin is hostile, and one runs a shop. Goblins are also wary of the Void and will run from Void creatures unless they have enough friends nearby.
The goblins bring gadgets you can use yourself: the Scrap Drill, which breaks a 2x2 patch of blocks at once; the Spyglass; the Scrap Glider; Rocket Boots for a double jump; and the Hookshot with its Hook Anchors. There is also the Bangstick ("a stick that goes 'bang!'") and a Goblin Repair Kit, which repairs items without lowering their maximum durability.
Chapter progression and the Forgotten Temple
The chapter starts at the Forgotten Temple, in the new Goblin Lab, "whether you are playing on an existing Exploration Mode world save or starting a brand new one". A new chapter screen lays out your objectives and what each one unlocks. Two cosmetic sets, Scrap Arcanist and Junk Pilot, are earned through Chapter 1 progress. Hypixel said in July it wasn't planning enchantments for Chapter 1, and the release notes list none.
Smaller changes include French and Spanish as game languages, a World Events toggle in custom world settings, and shared cooldowns on potions (15 seconds for health, 30 for stamina).
Minigames
Minigames were not part of the pre-release, and the July roadmap gave them their own timeline, but they are in the release notes. There are two to start with:
- Prop Hunt: hide in a crowded tavern as a bed, tankard or barrel, or hunt the props down. Every prop caught joins the hunters.
- Shuffle Jam: a shuffled playlist of party microgames, 12 at launch, including TNT Run, Memory Floor and Color Party. Most stars at the end wins.
You queue from Minigames on the main menu, solo or as a party, and matchmaking does the rest. The notes add that "Minigames will be available shortly after Chapter I launches", so they may not be there on day one.
What your server needs to do
The Update 7 modder notes are blunt about it: "Clients and servers have to be on matching protocol versions." Players' clients have been updating since 12 October, so a server still on Update 6 will turn them away.
- Back up the world before you update. The
universefolder holds your worlds and player data (see our Hytale save file location guide). Existing worlds "will upgrade themselves the first time they load", and the modder notes warn that "a world loaded on this version cannot be opened on an older one", so the backup is the only way back. - Update the server, then restart it. Update to 0.7.2 or later: 0.7.1 fixes joins to Windows-hosted worlds timing out, and 0.7.2 fixes a Linux crash in worlds that use RocksDB chunk storage. Our Hytale server update guide covers the steps.
- Check your plugins and asset packs. Update 7 renames several asset types, changes the protocol and removes plugin API methods, and Hytale has refused to start a server over mod validation problems since Update 3. Update or remove anything that fails to load.
- Decide about Breaches. They now start on their own after a few in-game nights. If you would rather not have them on a build server, world events can be switched per world with
/worldevent enablefollowed bytrueorfalse. New Creative worlds have them off by default.
Self-hosting? Update 7 adds a safety check: the server now refuses to boot if its world, prefab cache or backup folder sits inside the launcher's install folder, "which every update patches or wipes", and exits with code 11 after printing how to move them. Move your data out before you update rather than reaching for the --allow-install-dir override.
If your server is with us and players still can't join after the update, open a ticket and we'll get it onto the new version. Starting a fresh world for Chapter 1? Plans are on the Hytale server hosting page.
What's coming next
Minigames, shortly after launch: Prop Hunt and Shuffle Jam first. A Minigames tab in the Mod Browser and a framework for creators to build their own are planned, with no dates.
Chapter 2, no date yet: in July the studio described it as the crafting rework and Companions who move into your home, "if all goes well".
More chapters before 1.0: Cursebreaker Edition owners get one extra Standard Edition copy to give away for every Early Access chapter released.
FAQ
Is Hytale Chapter 1 out yet? Yes. It released on 12 October 2026 as Chapter I: Out of the Breach. Hypixel Studios never announced a release time in advance, so if your client has updated and your server has not, that is why players can't connect.
Will Chapter 1 wipe my world? No. The release notes say the chapter works on an existing Exploration Mode save, and worlds upgrade themselves on first load. The upgrade is one-way, though, so back up before you update.
Where are the Minigames? Under Minigames on the main menu, through matchmaking. The release notes say they arrive "shortly after Chapter I launches" without giving a time.
Is Hardcore needed for the Gobliterator? Only for Simon's $15,000 challenge, which Taf the penguin won. Hardcore arrived in Update 6, and it can only be chosen when a world is created, so an existing world can't be switched to it.
Will my mods break? Some will. Update 7 changes asset schemas, the network protocol and parts of the plugin API, and plugins built for Update 6 may need an update from their authors before the server will start with them.
Sources: Chapter I: Out of the Breach, Hotfixes: Update 7, Modder-Facing Patch Notes (Update 7), Hytale on X, 24 Sep, Simon Collins-Laflamme on X, Gobliterator Challenge: Chapter I, Update 7 pre-release patch notes, First look at Chapter 1, Update 6 patch notes.