Is Hytale multiplayer? How to play with friends explained

Jumping into Hytale and wondering if you'll be able to play it co-op with friends?

The Minecraft-like game has already started life with a bang, despite still being right at the beginning of early access, as players jump on in droves.

But just as Minecraft is often best enjoyed with friends, you might want to give Hytale a go with your pals too.

So, is Hytale multiplayer? Here's what you need to know.

Is Hytale multiplayer? How to play with friends explained

Yes, Hytale does have multiplayer support, although it may not be as simple to use as many other games.

Because Hytale isn't available on platforms like Steam, you can't just pop an invite over to someone on your friends list – instead, you'll have to make use of servers.

There are two types of servers: multiplayer and single player. Of course, multiplayer servers have multiplayer, but confusingly, single player servers do too.

The difference is, while multiplayer servers are always on, usually being rented from dedicated hosts, and can be joined at any time, a single player server is hosted locally, and will go offline for all players once the host disconnects.

So, with that in mind, here's how Hytale multiplayer works for both types of server.

How to play with friends on a single player world in Hytale

To play with friends on a single player world, you first need to have the host create the world and join it.

Once inside, the host can press Esc to open the pause menu, and select 'Online Play'.

Make sure the 'Allow Other Players to Join' option is set to 'On', and set a password if you want to make the server extra secure.

Click 'Save', and this will reveal a Share Code in the text box below. Click 'Copy to Clipboard' and send it to your friends.

Once they've got the Share Code, head to the main menu and select the 'Servers' tab.

Choose the 'Join via Code' option, paste the Share Code in and enter the password if required. Next, just hit 'Connect', and you'll join the server!

Just remember, single player servers are hosted locally, so will go offline once the host leaves the game, so choose someone with a reliable internet connection to host!

How to play with friends on a multiplayer world in Hytale

Just like in Minecraft, you can host or rent dedicated servers that are permanently online, meaning players can join whenever they want, even if the owner isn't around.

Setting up a dedicated server requires a bit of effort, but thankfully Hytale's developers have provided a handy guide on how to do it.

Once you've authenticated your server, it will have a dedicated IP address. Copy this IP address and send it to your friends.

IP address in hand, head to the Hytale main menu and click on the 'Servers' tab.

Select the 'Direct Connect' option, and paste the IP address in. If it's your first time connecting, click the 'Add Server' option and paste the address in there. This will save the server as a favourite, meaning you won't have to paste the IP address in every time.

That's all there is to it – happy mining!

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