‘Hytale’’s Pokémon MMO Is the Most Bonkers Mod of 2026
At first glance, PokeWorld Online is borderline indistinguishable from classic Pokémon
Incredible things are happening in Hytale. Yesterday, a modder posted a video on X showing how far they took the sandbox game with PokeWorlds Online, a multiplayer Pokémon fan project made within a Hytale server. Aside from the UI, its gameplay looks virtually indistinguishable from Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, which is quite impressive considering that, by default, Hytale is a first-person, Minecraft-style game.
Beyond these familiar assets, the demo shows the player placing Pokémon in their storage box, equipping items, and looking through stats pages. The playable character enters tall grass and triggers a randomly generated battle, leading to an encounter that looks almost identical to these older games. Ultimately, "the goal of this server is to create a multiplayer Pokémon game on Hytale." The trailer didn't show this MMORPG gameplay, but the creator admitted it is a work in progress.
The X post from @PokemonWorldOnlin lays out further plans for the mod. “It will feature well-known regions, more Pokémon, and, most importantly, eventually allow for custom regions, Fakemon, and much more...” They admit that “this project is going to require a huge amount of time. I’m not even sure I’ll be able to finish it, considering how much work it will take, but I wanted to show the community that Hytale could be used as a 'game engine,' rather than simply building on what already exists.” They concluded with, “I can’t wait to see other games and servers emerge 2D, 2D isometric, 3D... with their own assets, gameplay, and universes!”
What is Hytale?
Hytale is a Minecraft-inspired sandbox game from Hypixel Studios that went into early access on Jan. 13, 2026. The studio, which began as a group that ran custom Minecraft servers, was purchased by Riot Games in 2020. Riot canceled the game in June 2025, before its original creator bought the rights back and resumed development.
One of the game’s main features is that it allows players to build and share mods using a set of in-game tools. Still, even in this context, PokeWorlds Online is impressive; Hypixel founder Simon Collins-Laflamme replied to the X post with a GIF expressing his surprise. "I'm extremely happy that I was able to shock the creator himself," the PokeWorlds Online account responded. Hytale has previously been modded to run Minecraft, Doom, Windows 95, and more.
While Hytale was clearly created with this type of freedom in mind, there’s an elephant in the room: the infamously litigious Nintendo. The company is known for aggressively protecting its IP through legal action, whether that’s going after emulators or fan projects that use its characters. While Nintendo has done little as the Trump administration uses its franchises like Pokémon to peddle hate, the company has previously buried defendants in inescapable mountains of debt. Given this context, it seems likely that Nintendo’s lawyers will send a cease-and-desist if they catch wind of PokeWorlds Online.
Thankfully, the mod's creator has accounted for this: "If Nintendo steps in (which would be completely normal and understandable), I’ll remove any assets related to the Pokémon franchise. I’ll then try to replace them with custom assets and Fakemon." Hopefully, this fascinating project can survive first contact with Nintendo.