Hytale Pre-Release Guide: How to Test Updates and Stay Updated

Hytale has been in Early Access since January 13, 2026, and Hypixel Studios has been shipping updates at a steady pace. But before each major update goes live for everyone, there is a Pre-Release phase where players can test the upcoming changes, report bugs, and give feedback that shapes the final patch. This guide explains exactly how that process works and how to stay ahead of every drop. What Is a Hytale Pre-Release? A Pre-Release is a public test build of an upcoming Hytale update. It is available to all Early Access players before the update officially launches, giving the community a chance to find bugs, balance issues, and unexpected interactions that the development team may have missed during internal testing. Pre-Releases are separate from the live game build. When a Pre-Release is active, you can switch into it through the Hytale Launcher without affecting your main game installation or save data. The two builds run independently. Every major update since Early Access launch has gone through at least one Pre-Release phase. Some updates have had multiple Pre-Release builds as the team iterated on feedback — Update 4 went through two rounds of Pre-Release testing before the full launch. How Often Do Pre-Releases Drop? Based on the update cadence since Early Access launched in January 2026, Pre-Releases typically follow this pattern: Major updates (Update 1, 2, 3, 4...) drop a Pre-Release roughly one to two weeks before the full update goes live Hotfixes and minor patches usually skip the Pre-Release phase and push directly to live Pre-Release duration is typically five to ten days, though this varies depending on how much feedback needs to be addressed The cadence of major updates themselves has been approximately once per month during Early Access. Hypixel Studios has not committed to a fixed schedule, and updates ship when they are ready rather than on a calendar deadline. Simon has been clear about this on social media: quality takes priority over shipping on a specific date. How to Access a Pre-Release Build Accessing the Pre-Release is straightforward once you know where to look in the launcher: Open the Hytale Launcher. Make sure it is fully updated to the latest version. Find the version selector in the bottom-left corner of the launcher. By default it shows your current live build version (e.g., "1.0.4"). Click the version selector to open a dropdown menu. When a Pre-Release is active, it will appear here as a separate option labeled something like "Pre-Release 1.0.5-pre1". Select the Pre-Release build and click Launch. The launcher will download the Pre-Release files separately from your live installation. Switch back to live at any time by opening the version selector and choosing your stable build. Your progress on the live build is completely separate from the Pre-Release build. Pre-Release builds are available to all Early Access players at no additional cost. You do not need a special key, beta access, or a separate account. What to Test and How to Report Bugs When a Pre-Release drops, Hypixel Studios publishes a set of focus areas — specific systems and features they want community testing on. These are listed in the official Pre-Release announcement post. Prioritize testing those areas first, since targeted reports are more useful than general "the game crashed" reports. High-Value Things to Test New features highlighted in the patch notes — try to break them intentionally Server-side behavior — if you run a server, test the Pre-Release build with your server setup and mods Performance — note any FPS changes or new stutters compared to the live build Edge cases — test interactions between new features and existing systems Combat and balance — PvP changes are especially important to validate with real players Where to Submit Bug Reports Bug reports go to the official Hytale Discord server in the dedicated #pre-release-feedback and #bug-reports channels. When submitting a report: Include your Pre-Release build version number (visible in the launcher) Describe what you were doing when the issue occurred Include steps to reproduce the bug if you found a reliable way to trigger it Attach a screenshot or short video clip if the issue is visual or intermittent Check if the bug already has an open report thread before posting a duplicate Reports with clear reproduction steps and visual evidence get addressed first. Vague "it felt laggy" reports are harder to act on. Where to Follow Updates from Simon and Hypixel Studios A lot of the most useful information about upcoming features, release timing, and development context does not appear on the official website — it comes through social media, especially from Simon Collins-Laflamme (CEO and co-founder of Hypixel Studios) and other team members. Here are the places worth watching: Simon's Twitter/X Simon is the most active Hypixel Studios communicator on social media. He regularly shares: Teasers of upcoming features with screenshots or short clips Context on development decisions and why certain features work the way they do Replies to community questions that often contain useful info not in official announcements Rough timing signals for upcoming patches (e.g., "finishing up testing on this now") Following Simon directly gives you signal on what is coming before official announcements. Several major Pre-Release features have been previewed on his Twitter days or even weeks before the patch notes went live. The Official Hytale Twitter/X The official @Hytale account is where formal announcements land: Pre-Release announcements, full update patch notes, event announcements, and partnership news. If you only follow one account, make it this one. Hytale Blog The official Hytale blog publishes in-depth developer updates for major patches. These posts tend to be longer and more detailed than social media announcements, covering the design intent behind changes and roadmap context. They are not published for every patch but are worth reading when they do appear. The Official Hytale Discord The official Discord is the fastest channel for Pre-Release-specific communication. The development team posts Pre-Release announcements, known issues lists, and interim hotfix notices directly in Discord before they appear anywhere else. The #announcements channel is the essential one to watch. HytaleCharts News Section The HytaleCharts news feed aggregates patch notes and update coverage as each update drops. You can also browse the guides section for deep-dives into specific features from each update. Staying Ahead: Tips for Active Testers Enable Discord notifications for #announcements in the official Hytale Discord. Pre-Releases are often announced with short notice and can end early if major issues are found. Being notified immediately means you get more testing time. Read the Pre-Release patch notes before testing. Testing without knowing what changed means you will spend time on things that were already fixed or intentionally changed. Keep the live build installed. If the Pre-Release has a game-breaking bug, you will want to switch back to the live build without a lengthy reinstall. Compare patch notes between Pre-Release revisions. When a Pre-Release gets an update (e.g., pre1 to pre2), the revision notes highlight exactly what changed based on community feedback. Reading these shows which bug reports had an impact. Join community testing groups. Several Hytale Discord communities and Reddit threads organize coordinated Pre-Release testing sessions, especially for PvP balance and server stress testing. Organized testing surfaces bugs much faster than individual play. Pre-Release History Since Early Access Launch UpdatePre-Release DateFull Launch DateKey Features Tested Update 1January 20, 2026January 27, 2026Stability fixes, initial balancing, server performance Update 2February 3, 2026February 10, 2026Dinosaurs, jungle biome, new combat abilities Update 3February 10, 2026February 17, 2026Combat overhaul, new weapon types, stamina changes Update 4 Pre-Release 1February 19, 2026February 25, 2026Multiple clients, revamped mod management, world backups Update 4 Part 2March 10, 2026March 17, 2026Revolve Tool, New Worlds contest features, asset editor improvements The gap between Pre-Release and full launch has generally been around one week. The one exception was Update 4, which had two rounds because community testing surfaced enough issues to warrant a second Pre-Release before the full launch. Common Questions Does Pre-Release progress carry over to live? No. Pre-Release worlds and save data are separate from your live build and are wiped between Pre-Release phases. Do not build anything in a Pre-Release world that you want to keep. Can Pre-Release builds run multiplayer? Yes. Pre-Release clients can connect to servers running the same Pre-Release build. Most major community servers set up a separate Pre-Release test server. The official test server is occasionally available for stress testing — announcements go out in the official Discord when it is up. What happens if a critical bug is found during Pre-Release? Hypixel Studios can push a hotfix to the Pre-Release build (incrementing from pre1 to pre2) or, in rare cases, extend the Pre-Release period to allow more testing time. Simon has previously posted on Twitter when a critical issue pushes back a launch date. Are Pre-Releases available on all platforms? Yes, Pre-Releases are available on all platforms that have Early Access: PC (Windows and macOS), as well as console if your platform has the Early Access version. The version selector in the launcher works the same way across platforms. Summary Pre-Releases are one of the best parts of Hytale's Early Access model. They give every player a direct line into shaping the game before updates lock in. The system is simple to use, the reporting channels are well-organized, and the development team has shown they act on community feedback between Pre-Release revisions. Follow Simon on Twitter for early signals, keep notifications on in the official Discord for real-time announcements, and read the patch notes before you start testing. That combination will keep you better informed than most players and make your testing time count. For a full history of what each update brought, check out the HytaleCharts news section. And if you are running a Hytale server, list it on HytaleCharts so players can find you when they jump into Pre-Release testing.