Hytale is the newest sandbox game on the market, and it’s finally in early access after spending years in development. Made by a team of former Minecraft modders, Hytale blends elements of the classic Minecraft formula with an RPG twist and Hytale mods, if you’re so inclined to use them once you know how to play Hytale. Even in early access, there’s a ton of content to explore, but you don’t have to explore it as a solo player.

There’s full multiplayer support in Hytale, and you have a couple of options when it comes to joining up with your friends. Below, you can see how to add friends, join and invite them to a world, and how worlds work in Hytale.

How to add, invite, and join friends in Hytale

Hytale works a little differently than other sandbox games, as there is no dedicated friends list as of yet. This means you can’t add a friend and then choose to invite them to your server or world through a specific menu.

Instead, Hytale offers the ability to send server codes, which you can send to anyone. The code allows them to join your server immediately. It should be noted that server codes contain your IP address, so you want to ensure you’re only sending codes to trusted friends.

To send out a server code, follow these steps:

• Open the main menu once you’ve started a world in Hytale and then select the “Online Play” tab
• Find the option for “Allow other players to join” and enable it
• Save this setting, and then you’ll see a code appear on your screen
• Copy this code to your clipboard and then paste it somewhere or send it to a friend directly

Alternatively, you can join a friend’s world using a code by following these steps:

• Open the main menu and select the “Servers” tab
• Choose the option to “Join via code” and paste/type in the code you received from a friend
• Press “Connect” to immediately join that friend’s server

Once you or a friend has a server code, the code isn’t required again unless you or a friend is kicked from that world. Then, to be invited back, the code needs to be entered once more.

One major element of multiplayer in Hytale is that, in most cases, when the host of a world goes offline, the world can’t be accessed by anyone else. This means you can only play on a friend’s world when they are online themselves.

The only exception to this rule is with servers. Hytale has third-party servers, and you can make and run your own servers, which comes with a massive set of guidelines. No matter which route you take, though, a server is more of a complicated process than simply joining a friend’s world. However, the developers have said that servers in Hytale will usually run better and have increased player caps compared to regular worlds, so there are definitely some benefits if you feel like getting into the server side of the game.