🔥 Hypixel’s Amazing Story
Simon “Hypixel” Collins-Laflamme and Philippe Touchette initially established Hypixel as just a YouTube channel. However, today Hypixel stands as one of the world’s largest and highest-quality Minecraft servers. The duo launched the server’s beta version on April 13, 2013, and currently, Hypixel Inc. manages this massive network. At first, they created Minecraft adventure maps and showcased them on YouTube. Later, they built the Hypixel server to display and develop these maps further. The mini-games they designed for players to enjoy while waiting for others became so popular that they evolved into the main focus.
As years passed, Hypixel’s success grew exponentially. By 2014, servers like Mineplex, Hypixel, Shotbow, and Hive Games were hosting “over 1 million unique users each week.” Today, Hypixel has risen to an unrivaled position in the Minecraft world thanks to its record number of players.
🏆 World Records and Achievements
Official institutions have recognized Hypixel’s magnitude and success. In fact, the Hypixel team announced on October 20, 2017, that they held four Guinness World Records. Additionally, the server continuously breaks its own records for online player count.
Currently dominating the Minecraft multiplayer scene, Hypixel hosts over 100,000 concurrent players daily. No other server even comes close to this impressive figure. But the records don’t stop there! When famous Hypixel YouTuber Technoblade streamed on the server after a hiatus of several years, the online player count skyrocketed to 214,000. Furthermore, on April 16, 2021, the server celebrated its 8th anniversary with over 216,000 concurrent players, making history.
🎯 Popular Game Modes
The Hypixel team has specialized in creating and developing original mini-games. Now let’s examine some of their most popular game modes:
🛏️ BedWars
In BedWars, players strive to destroy their opponents’ beds. This is because these beds are key items that prevent respawning after death. You and up to 3 teammates start the game on separate islands. Then you need to collect four essential resources: Iron, Gold, Diamonds, and Emeralds. You use these valuable resources to purchase items and upgrades from Shopkeepers on your island. Be careful, as each island has a Bed, and if your Bed is destroyed, you can no longer respawn. Also, the competition level is extremely high, and the ranking system allows players to truly test their skills.
☁️ SkyWars
In SkyWars, each player begins on their unique floating island surrounding a central island. The center island houses OP loot, enchantment tables, anvils, and more valuable items. You must collect equipment and weapons from chests scattered throughout the map to defeat other players. Because to win the game, you must be the last player or team standing. Additionally, toward the end of the game, Ender Dragons appear and continually attack the remaining players, making the struggle even more challenging.
🌱 SkyBlock
SkyBlock emerges as the most popular game mode on the Hypixel network. It brings together over 100,000 players during peak hours. The Hypixel team launched SkyBlock on June 11, 2019, and in this persistent mini-game, players determine their own goals. While some work to obtain the best armor and weapons, others strive to maximize their skills. Meanwhile, others focus on building impressive islands.
When you start the game, you spawn on a Private Island and encounter quests that teach you how to play. Afterward, you can begin developing skills such as Mining, Farming, and Combat. The game features separate islands focused on specific skills, and you can only access these islands after reaching certain levels in those skills.
🔪 Murder Mystery
Murder Mystery has managed to remain a fan favorite for a long time. It offers a fast-paced game style that usually doesn’t last more than 5-10 minutes. In this Minecraft horror-themed game mode, there’s 1 “detective,” 1 “murderer,” and a group of “innocent” players. While the murderer tries to kill all innocents without getting caught, the detective works to protect the innocents and catch the murderer.
🏹 Other Popular Games
You can find many more exciting games on the server:
- Duels: This classic Hypixel game mode offers players the opportunity to participate in team battles or 1-on-1 duels. It includes numerous different modifiers and game styles, including popular ones like “The Bridge,” “OP Duels,” “UHC,” “Classic Duels,” and “Sumo.”
- TNT Games: It brings together fun explosion-themed games like TNT Run, Bow Spleef, and TNT Tag.
- Turbo Kart Racers: This appears as a full-fledged racing game within Minecraft. It puts you in the driver’s seat in an exciting race against 11 other players. Also, during the game, you can collect special boxes that provide advantages in the race.
- Vampires: In this horror-themed game, you take on the role of either a vampire or a survivor on a spooky map. As a vampire, you need to chase survivors and turn them into “one of us.”
💻 Technical Infrastructure and Management
The Hypixel team has established a robust technical infrastructure capable of serving millions of players. They use a custom Slime file format instead of Minecraft’s default Anvil file format. This way, they’ve saved gigabytes of storage space by eliminating fields and data unnecessary for the server.
Around 2018, Hypixel fell victim to multiple attacks hosted by malware called Mirai. As a result, they started using Cloudflare Spectrum as DDoS protection. Moreover, as of July 2017, Hypixel has over 350 dedicated servers running its server network.
🚀 Community and Social Features
Hypixel stands out not only for its games but also for the strong community experience it offers. You can play most games in parties and team up with your friends. To do this, simply use the “/party [your friend’s name]” command to invite your friends to your party before joining games.
Also, the friend feature allows you to add someone to your friend list and track what they’re doing when they log into the server. Meanwhile, guilds function like never-ending parties. However, only players with the VIP+ rank can create guilds, though everyone can join them.
💰 Economy and Purchasable Items
Hypixel maintains its sustainability through in-game purchases. Players can support the Hypixel team to produce more and higher-quality content by purchasing Ranks, Hypixel Gold, and SkyBlock Gems. Moreover, they can enhance their Hypixel Server experiences by buying various products from the official Hypixel Store.
🌎 Global Reach and Partnerships
Hypixel has supported its success with global expansion and strategic partnerships. In May 2017, they partnered with Minecraft China’s publisher NetEase to release a version of Hypixel in China, also known as “Chypixel.” NetEase operated and translated this separate version as part of their partnership. However, this partnership ended on June 30, 2020.
📈 Future Growth and Developments
The Hypixel team continues to grow by consistently offering new content and updates. They work intensively to create unique and original content. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the player count peaked, though it experienced some decline in the post-pandemic period. Despite this, the server continues to host nearly 75,000 players during peak hours and an average of 45-50,000 people daily.
🎯 How to Get Started
If you want to join Hypixel, follow these basic steps:
First, you need a Minecraft account for PC/Mac (Java version), as Windows 10, Pocket Edition, or Console versions don’t work on Hypixel.
After installing Minecraft, you can add Hypixel to your multiplayer server list. To do this, click the Add Server button at the bottom right of the menu. Then enter “mc.hypixel.net” in the Server Address bar and optionally change the server name.
Finally, click on Hypixel in your multiplayer server list and enter the game with the Join Server button.
📝 FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
What do I need to join Hypixel?
You only need a Java Edition Minecraft account. Therefore, you cannot log in with Bedrock Edition, Windows 10 Edition, Pocket Edition, or console versions.
What are the most popular game modes on Hypixel?
The most played game modes include SkyBlock, BedWars, SkyWars, and Murder Mystery.
Can I join Hypixel for free?
Absolutely! Hypixel is completely free, and you can play all game modes. Additionally, purchasable ranks and items are optional and generally provide additional cosmetic items or advantages.
How many people can Hypixel host?
Hypixel has hosted over 216,000 concurrent players as a record and generally hosts over 100,000 players during peak hours.
How can I play with my friends?
You can create a party to join games with your friends by using the “/party [your friend’s name]” command.
