Hypixel

Hypixel, otherwise known as the Hypixel Network, is a Minecraft minigame server released on April 13, 2013. It is managed by the company Hypixel Inc.

It hosts a large number of games including Bed Wars, SkyWars, Duels, Murder Mystery, and Cops & Robbers (known as Cops and Crims). The server is widely regarded as, if not objectively is, the largest and most expansive Minecraft server currently online.

Hypixel

General Information
Established	2013
Owner	Simon Collins
Registered Members	4,337,292 (as of December 1, 2022)
Joining Process	Participation
Website	Website
Social Media
Twitter	Twitter
Facebook	Facebook
YouTube	YouTube channel
Discord	Discord server

Structure

Joining process

Joining the community is done by playing on the servers and optionally creating an account on the forums.

User expectations

The rules for the services Hypixel provides are split between the rules for the Minecraft server generally, for SkyBlock specifically, and the terms of service. Aside from the terms of service, each specific document is minimal with at maximum a dozen explicit actions being stated as prohibited. Thus, it is to be expected that staff have significant latitude in enforcement of server decorum. The terms of service, while applying globally, is generally standard legalese for the providing of an online service.

Governance

As the community makes use of a corporate structure, it is generally unknowable whom exactly has the final decision making power in any given area of influence, as that is not usually made public knowledge - either intentionally or out of a lack of necessity. The organization has also opted to not produce nor allow the production of a comprehensive list of all staff members on their forum.

At time of writing, 2 ranks of staff are known. Administrators are individuals with near unrestricted access to most systems within the area of influence they have, which differs from administrator to administrator. Some are community managers, others network developers, etc. Game masters are individuals who function as general community helpers which are split into teams. Some may be assigned solely to answering appeals, others to a specific game on the server, and so on. Both ranks are paid for the work they perform, though the extent of this compensation is unknown.

History

2013-2015

On April 13, the server's IP address is made public with 500 available slots. The 2 available games are Quakecraft and bow spleef.

On October 5 and 6, Hypixel performs it's first tournament.

On May 30, 2014, the staff rank Junior Helper is put into effect.

On September 3, Hypixel releases a creative mode server.

On January 21 and 22, 2015, the forums are updated. Notably, players can link their Minecraft account to their forum account.

On June 14, Skywars is released.

2016-2019

On January 29, Watchdog, the server's proprietary anti-cheat software, is launched. This allegedly resulted in 852 automated bans, followed by an additional 2,000 bans 48 hours later.

On June 7, the team behind the creative mode server splits off from Hypixel and becomes their own entity.

On January 19, 2017, a lobby dedicated to prototyping new games is released. Notably, Bedwars is on the list of prototype games.

On May 21, Hypixel announces Hypixel China.

On October 20, Hypixel receives 4 different Guinness World Records.

On January 8, 2018, the game Battle Royale is added.

On November 29, the official Hypixel Discord server is released.

2020-Present

On January 26, Skyblock receives a separate set of rules, the first game to have them.

Throughout March, due to the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in a surge in players, the concurrent player limit is artificially lowered while staff work to upgrade the network infrastructure. Players are allegedly compensated with triple experience points and in-game currency for the duration.

On June 30, Hypixel China shuts down.

On August 10, the Hypixel weekly karaoke event is discontinued after a 7 consecutive year run.

On September 11, rules governing the forum are released for the first time.

On February 23, 2021, the Hypixel official support website is overhauled to it's current iteration.

On May 18, a new staff rank titled "gamemaster" is launched. Notably, this is a paid position.

On June 15 through 22, a DDoS attack is launched against Hypixel's hosting provider which results in a full shutdown of services for 5 consecutive days.

On August 9, the voluntary staff position "moderator" is terminated. All moderators, aside from those that were grandfathered up into the new "gamemaster" position (compromising 10% of the previous team), are demoted.

On November 24 through December 1, due to the mandatory Mojang account migration, Hypixel requires that players playing the competitive games The Pit, Mega Walls, and UHC Champions present evidence of successful migration to participate. This decision is controversial.

On May 2 through 3, 2022, a DNS rerouting attack is launched against Hypixel that led to sites requesting cryptocurrency payment with claims that Hytale would shutdown. The attack was repelled after 11 hours.

On June 30, following the death of Technoblade, a memorial is made on the server's main lobby. A book in the lobby allowed players to write a message that, after screening by Hypixel staff, was printed and sent physically to Technoblade's family. The memorial was removed at the end of July.

On August 1, Hypixel shuts down ranked Skywars after 6 years due to chronic cheating. The community allegedly responds favorably.

References

At least one revision of this page incorporates text from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypixel which is released under CC BY-SA-4.0. (view authors)