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Riot Games and a number of gaming executives are investing in Hypixel Studios.

The newly formed studio is working on a Minecraft -like game called Hytale .

Before starting a studio, Hypixel ran a highly popular Minecraft server.

Riot Games has become a lead investor in a new video game developer run by the creators of the popular Hypixel Minecraft server—Hypixel Studios—as the new company announces its premiere title, Hytale.

Hypixel’s new investors are a veritable who’s who in esports, including Peter Levin of Lionsgate (one of Immortals’ investors), former pro gamer and Plays.tv CEO Dennis “Thresh” Fong, and former Blizzard content chief Rob Pardo. Hypixel did not disclose the amount of money it received from any of its new investors.

In a statement, the newly formed developer said the investment will allow it to “avoid many common pitfalls of game development, like feeling pressure to release too early or overreliance on crowdfunding.”

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The studio’s first game is looking to replicate the cultural and commercial success of Minecraft by incorporating elements of competitive gaming, streaming, and social media. A trailer of the new game also displays a similar block-like aesthetic and feel to the sandbox-style video game that released in 2009. Despite the move to create a studio, the Hypixel server for Minecraft will maintain a dedicated team while Hypixel Studios work on the new game for PC and Mac.

“Founding Hypixel Studios is a huge step forward for our team, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the support of Riot Games and our advisory group of investors,” Hypixel co-founder Simon Collins-Laflamme said in a statement. “We feel very lucky to have built relationships that not only fund the development of Hytale, but provide us with insight and advice that will be instrumental in making Hytale as good as it possibly can be.”

The investment by Riot Games signals an expansion of its business and esports strategies that largely revolve around the developer’s premier title League of Legends, which is regarded as possibly the biggest title in esports. Hypixel initially began discussions with Riot in 2016 when it reached out for advice. Hypixel’s announcement did not include any information about the potential for making Hytale an esports title.