How Jagex Is Keeping MMORPG ‘Runescape’ Alive After 20 Years

· 10 min read
How Jagex Is Keeping MMORPG ‘Runescape’ Alive After 20 Years

Now, in the year 2021, it’s a 20-year old MMORPG that’s played by millions of people around the world.


While technically it exists as a free-to-play MMORPG with an optional “premium” subscription service, the developers consider Runescape to be mostly a subscription-based game. The longevity and ongoing success is quite remarkable.


Personally, I’ve got lots of Runescape memories. While growing up (probably around 2003) I never had access to very good internet, let alone a half-decent computer, so games like EverQuest were out of the question. But Runescape was a game my computer could handle and I was totally hooked. Now, it’s even out on Steam it’s still so popular.


To help commemorate the 20-year anniversary I got the opportunity to reach out and exchange emails with multiple members of the development team who all had some fantastic insight and feedback into how Jagex has kept Runescape alive for so long.


‘Demon Slayer’ Season 2 Finally Has An Actual 2021 Release Date


Netflix’s ‘Squid Game’ Season 2 Not A Sure Thing, Says Director


‘Genshin Impact’ Still Refuses To Increase Anniversary Rewards, Despite Fan Outcry


David Jagneaux: Two decades is a very, very long time for an MMO to remain active. Only games like EverQuest seem to ever reach that mark, so RuneScape is in very limited company. Why do you think people have kept playing, if you could boil it down to a single main reason?


Dave Osborne, Lead Designer: I would say it’s the relationship a player forms with their character. There are few reasons to create a second account, as RuneScape doesn’t offer varying player classes, so every choice you make and every increment of progress is stacked on top of the character. Your avatar becomes the trophy for everything you’ve done in RuneScape. Players might come to RuneScape for the humorous tone, the lower specs needed to play, or because it’s on mobile, but I believe it’s the bond with the player character that has kept people playing for that crazy 20 years.


Matt Casey, Product Director: RuneScape is a living game. Alive and ever-evolving for 7,306 (count ’em) days, the game brings a world that is continually changing and gives our players new experiences and adventures all the time. We empower our players to have a say in the future of the game through our polls, social channels, surveys and more recently, collaborative design sessions over Zoom during lockdown conditions. The game has a wonderfully evergreen design which encourages players to be good to one another and becomes meaningfully social with the community building genuine friendships, many of which have lasted as long as the game itself.


Jagneaux: The MMO space is more competitive now than ever. With high-end subscription games like WoW and FFXIV continuing to go strong, buy-to-play games like Guild Wars 2 and ESO chugging away, and countless other free-to-play games across mobile, PC, and console, there are so many options for people. In today's market, what helps RuneScape differentiate itself the most?


Dave Osborne - The things that differentiated RuneScape 20 years ago are still doing a decent job of making us stand out today. RuneScape doesn’t make high demands of the platform you play it on. In the early days, that meant people could play in libraries or quickly boot it up on a browser round a friend’s house. Now, that reasonably low barrier means that RuneScape is well-placed to be multi-platform, as shown by us coming to Steam in 2020 and mobile in 2021. That last one can’t be understated enough, as RuneScape is the first MMO that is coming to mobile without making any concessions like chopping out content or porting over PC controls. This is the RuneScape world in its entirety, but with controls and interfaces that are tailored for mobile.


Matt Casey - I think RuneScape offers a genuinely alternative fantasy experience that is at once deep, clever and extraordinarily compelling. Laced with whimsical storytelling, and a good dose of British humour (dad jokes and puns a specialty), RuneScape is the perfect antidote to the swathes of cookie-cutter MMORPGs that exist today. I particularly love the many intricate quests that RuneScape has which are rarely seen in other games these days. They remind me very much of the LucasArts point-and-click classics like Monkey Island and Loom, with bizarre characters and proper head-scratching puzzles. Good job we have the internet now!


RuneScape also differs significantly by offering lean-back gameplay. RuneScape can be played intensely with exciting combat and precision skilling, but it can also be a very relaxing experience, with many players spending hours making use of the more AFK aspects of the game, making progress in a second screen while engaging in other activities, such as watching a TV show, shopping or maybe even working.


Jagneaux: Hitting a new all-time record number of paid subscribers at 1.2M in 2020 is a huge deal. What do you think spurs that interest? Why do so many people pay when the base game is already free?


Dave Osborne - We actually think of ourselves as a subscription game. We release substantial, episodic content every month, with patch weeks and events running on top of that. It’s a bustling little game, and that bustle comes as a benefit for being a subscriber. You can play for free and get a portion of the game map, quests and skills, but you are missing out on the constant supply of new content, new stories and new skills to train, and to be a part of that you need a subscription. It’s like waiting eagerly for the next story in your favourite series.


Matt Casey - Dave nailed it, but I’d also add that we made a brave decision to branch the game back in 2013 with the launch of Old School RuneScape. This was really about giving players a choice, so for those that remember the game they played back in the computer lab at school, or on their parents laptop, can experience the game exactly as they remember it. For other players who are looking for a higher fidelity experience with more modern features and presentation, we provide that option as well. 2020 saw growth in both flavours of the game which is fantastic and has helped us reach record combined membership levels this year.


Jagneaux: How has the Steam launch gone? Why was just recently the right time for Steam? And can you speak to player count on that platform, success versus non-Steam version, etc?


Matt Casey - We were absolutely delighted by the Steam launch this year and the support from both the current player community and from Valve itself has been outstanding. We chose to launch on Steam this year as a key part of our plans to bring RuneScape to new players all over the world, and recent additions to the game like the Archaeology skill released earlier this year and bringing with it a horde of new content to discover, made it a great time to do this. Steam has driven an increase in RuneScape players to both the free and paid versions of the game but most impressively has driven a huge outpouring of positive feeling about the game from players both new and old, with a 94% positive rating from more than 3,700 reviews submitted in the last 30 days.


Jagneaux: What have been some of the biggest challenges about maintaining and evolving an MMORPG for 20 years?


Dave Osborne - I think the answer’s in the question. RuneScape has always looked to tell new stories, and that means bolting onto the world with new areas, quests and things to do. But you’re not shedding the older stuff at the same time; all of that remains in your game, and it deteriorates. Our graphical and audio bar gets higher, while the library of assets is so gargantuan and unwieldy that it’s impossible to bring it up to the highest standard, all of the time. The design bar, too, gets higher, and players demand new things to play that they haven’t experienced before, but fit snugly into the other systems that already exist. That balance between the old and the new, and making sure the experience is seamless between them, has always been the biggest struggle, and it will only continue to grow.


Luckily, we have the backing of our leadership team, who have invested in things like a full player avatar rework in the new year, which means we can look at these problems in their entirety, and find solutions that will last us for another 20 years.


Matt Casey - We also face the same challenge as most games, and that is how to remain relevant when there is so much competition for players' time and attention. We continually try to adapt and bring the game to wherever and however our players want to play it. RuneScape players made it clear to us they wanted the full experience, rather than a cut-down or ‘RuneScape Lite’ version, and this is why with the launch of RuneScape on Android and iOS in 2021 players will be able to enjoy a fully cross-play experience picking up their adventures from where they left off regardless of which platform they choose to play on.


Jagneaux: I've seen some frequent and recurring complaints that the free-to-play version is TOO restrictive. Have there ever been discussions about adding more features for free players or adjusting the monetization incentives at all? How do you balance that?


Matt Casey - So RuneScape introduced subscriptions way back in 2002 to replace the original ad-funded model. We wanted players to be able to access content within the game without paying and we have maintained that option ever since. Clearly this was long before free-to-play became as widely used as it is now, and it's true that RuneScape doesn't work in the same way as a conventional free-to-play game. We have expanded the range of content to our non-subscribing players over time, including making certain skills eg Fletching (to make ammunition for ranged combat) completely free-to-play. We also launched the Archaeology skill with a higher cap before membership was a requirement so more players could try out the content up to level 20. We are also actively making changes to the monetization of the game particularly, so we no longer ask players to pay for certain features. For example, additional Action Bars are no longer sold to free players or members in our store. We balance these decisions mainly by listening to feedback from our players to ensure we have the right mix of paid and non-paid content in the game.


Jagneaux: Are there any plans for IP expansion (a sequel, spin-off, new game in the same IP but a different genre, etc) or a new IP altogether as a follow-up?


Mark Ogilvie, Creative Director - There are always plans like that. We want to bring RuneScape to as many people as possible, both in and outside of the MMO space. We’ve looked at a few different genres, including ARPGs, platformers, strategy titles and even interactive storybooks, as well as brand new MMO concepts still set in the RuneScape universe. Nothing solid just yet to announce, but I am hopeful that there will be next time we speak.


Matt Casey - We are continually investigating and evaluating opportunities to bring the world of RuneScape to new audiences. We are investing in new research and development to create more living games and we currently have a team taking an unannounced title through a multi-year production cycle.


Jagneaux: Would you ever consider a VR version of RuneScape? There's another MMO in development that will have VR support from a similar camera perspective. Would you ever or have you ever toyed with that idea?


Matt Casey - I remember experiencing a VR demo of RuneScape’s Elf City region at the first RuneFest I attended several years ago. That was quite a surprise and attracted a lot of attention from players at the time. We don’t have any plans to actively pursue VR for RuneScape right now, but I wouldn’t completely rule it out, particularly if our players tell us it is something they would really want. VR is still full of possibilities and I’m particularly interested to see how recent innovations like wireless/self-contained VR take off.


Jagneaux: Can you speak at all to the ongoing struggles of trying to keep the economy of gold / gold selling under control, bots, spam, etc that often plague free-to-play MMO games?


Dave Osborne - In RuneScape specifically, the player-driven economy has done so much to address the issue. We introduced Bonds in 2013, items that players are able to purchase with real-world money and represent one month of membership. We made the Bond freely tradable in-game for RuneScape’s gold currency, so diligent players who have worked to gain a lot of in-game gold could effectively buy membership from other players, while other players could buy legitimate amounts of in-game gold by selling their Bonds. We were unsure of how our community would react, or what impact Bonds would have on illegitimate gold sellers, but it’s been remarkably positive.  APISA While we would never say that RuneScape is free from these issues, Bonds and the player economy have done so much to ensure that you can wander the game world without encountering any.


Jagneaux: What do you think about the state of the MMO market for the next 5, 10, or even 20 years? Where is the industry going and how does RuneScape keep up with constant shifts and changes?


Dave Osborne - It’s heartening to see MMOs still being announced. You’re seeing so many games with MMO trimmings, treating themselves as live services with social structures, regular updates and expansive worlds, so there was always a concern that MMOs would bleed into culture without remaining around themselves. Personally, I hope that MMOs move to a place where there are fewer demands on the player. Our lives are all getting increasingly busy, and so many things - not just games, but other services - are clamouring for our attention. If MMOs could be the no-pressure, home-away-from-home, where you feel like you can return for comfort, yet still make progress, then I see MMOs thriving. You don’t get the feelings of achievement and belonging to the same degree from any other genre, so it’s important to me that MMOs stick around.


Matt Casey - Similarly, I think a lot of us love MMOs, but lack the time to really commit to them in the same way as we may have done in the past. I still feel there is a very strong desire for deeply connected, immersive experiences that the best MMOs (including RuneScape) deliver in spades. I think cross-platform will rapidly become increasingly popular, allowing that experience to happen in more convenient ways (with less of the ‘long-haul’), but still maintaining the meta-progress systems that keep players entertained for such a long time. I think this will lead to more convergence between these types of games in the future, in the same way many more games include RPG elements now than say ten years ago.


I think we are likely to see more non-desktop games platforms provide regular payment options instead of relying solely on the free-to-play model. The success of the battle pass system and rising use of subscription-based services in mobile apps makes sense to both players and publishers, particularly when coupled with cross-platform, always-on games. RuneScape is in a fantastic place to adapt to these trends and I look forward to the opportunities this will bring us in the future.


Runescape is kicking off The Grand Party today, which is an anniversary event bringing players together among the most recognizable characters. Then over the course of the entirety of 2021 there will be a host of new celebratory content, including new multi-part questlines-not to mention the epic Elder Gods story arc.


The full version of the current iteration is also coming to tablets and mobile devices this year to join the existing mobile version of Old School Runescape. And finally, ‘Runescape: The First 20 Years-An Illustrated History’ will be published by Dark Horse Comics this year as a full-color hardover companion book.