Eric Barone clarifies he's just 'open to entertaining the idea' of saving Hytale, but he's not pursuing it himself because he's completely focused on Haunted Chocolatier

Eric Barone smiling and talking about Stardew Valley — (Image credit: PC Gamer)

There's been a lot of talk about resurrecting Hytale since Riot cancelled development of the Minecraft-inspired sandbox RPG last week. Most of it is originating from original Hypixel Studios founder Simon Collins-Laflamme, who recently committed to reaching out to Riot to see what can be done. But there's an unexpected name in the conversation, too: Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone.

Barone's interest in Hytale came to light through a Discord message, shared on X by YouTuber Myne. "Possibly," Barone wrote in response to a user who enquired about his interest (and suggested Barone could make some money from it). "But I would have to hear more about what the plan is, why it failed initially (behind the scenes), etc."

ConcernedApe, the creator of Stardew Valley if he would #SaveHytale — (Image credit: Myne (Twitter))

It's a smart position to take. Hytale seemed to be progressing well even before it gained access to Riot's nigh-limitless resources, yet five years down the road it all came to naught, and the likelihood of that situation changing in the workable future was so remote that Riot opted to take a bath on the whole thing rather than pour more money into it. Asking how that happened, and how developers will turn the ship around in some hypothetical 'Hytale lives again' future, is just common sense.

These early days of efforts to 'Save Hytale' are no time to splash the cold waters of reality on your face, of course, and Barone's statement drew eyeballs and excitement. One or two die-hards even dared dream of some kind of Hulk Hogan/Mr T-style tag team-up between Barone and Collins-Laflamme.

For myself, though, a more pressing question leapt to mind: Did Barone actually say that? Yes he did, as it turns out, although he clarified in an email sent to PC Gamer that he was only responding to a question, not making any sort of public pronouncement. He also suggested, gently as is his way, that people expecting him to ride in and save the day should probably rein it in a bit.

"I'm not actively doing anything to make this happen," Barone said. "If something were presented to me, I would be open to entertaining the idea, that's all.

"It's not something I am thinking about too much, since I'm focused on working on my next game."

So Barone might be interested in helping out with the Hytale situation, but he is definitely working on Haunted Chocolatier, the game he's been on-and-off ignoring for years because he was also still working on Stardew Valley. He's gotten more serious about Haunted Chocolatier in recent months, though: In April he mused about going out to a cabin in the woods and cutting himself off from the world for two years until it's finished.

Given all that, It doesn't seem too likely to me that Barone will involve himself in Hytale—the man's hands are full enough as it is with games he's genuinely passionate about. That may be a little disappointing—a Hytale happy ending written by the man behind Stardew Valley would be pretty cool—but it's okay too, for two reasons: One, because Collins-Laflamme is serious about getting involved in the Hytale situation, and more importantly is taking concrete steps toward making it happen; and two, because it means Barone is actually seriously working on Haunted Chocolatier, and we might really get to play it someday.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

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