At RuneFest in Birmingham over the weekend, Jagex revealed a fourth MMO in the RuneScape series, one that arrives with a fresh engine and a working title that sounds like a sequel fans have waited decades to hear. The game, currently known as RS4, remains in early development, and Jagex says it is at least a few years from release.
Alongside the announcement, a RuneScape animated adaptation was revealed, made in collaboration with YouTuber Charlie “MoistCr1TiKaL” White and LA production company Lyrical Media. The two projects were presented side by side during the reveal.
The Unreal Engine Build
The studio behind the game described its new MMO as a way to bring the world of Gielinor to life using Unreal Engine. Its promotional material says the title will join the depth, freedom and community-led spirit that have defined RuneScape for 25 years with the technology and game design options of today.
Years after the Dragon Queen Kuldra was defeated in RuneScape: Dragonwilds, the game resumes its story. It opens in Ashenfall, a region first seen in Dragonwilds and placed to the north-east of the main map. Jagex says Ashenfall marks just the start, with intentions to grow well past it, spreading into both familiar and new parts of Gielinor over time.
Why the Number Matters
RuneScape has a history with numbered titles. The original game was rebranded RuneScape 2 in 2004 and RuneScape 3 in 2013 before Jagex abandoned numbering altogether, folding everything back into a single live service. Today, the RuneScape stable includes Old School RuneScape and spin-off RuneScape: Dragonwilds, both still active and separate from whatever RS4 eventually becomes.
Jagex has not committed to calling the new game RuneScape 4, numbered or otherwise. In a blog post, the studio explained why it had announced RS4 this far ahead of launch. Engine and tooling work from Dragonwilds gave the team something to build on, and Jagex wants to extend the same collaborative, community-driven development it has used on RuneScape and Old School.
The existing games aren’t being sacrificed for anything else. Every single one retains its own team and its own ongoing investment.
“We’ll be designing RS4 to sit alongside them as an additional way to experience RuneScape and the world of Gielinor,” Jagex said, adding that “the ambition isn’t to replace the RuneScape games you love. It’s to make the RuneScape universe bigger.”
The Animated Adaptation
The animated version is built to make the realm, its people and its tales come alive. It counts on a history stretching back across 25 years, along with well over 300 million accounts created for players since the game first appeared.
Charlie White, who runs the channel MoistCr1TiKaL, and Lyrical Media are developing the project together. Jagex characterized the collaboration as an extension of the same approach it has applied to its own games.
What Comes Next
The studio behind Jagex is placing its wager on a fourth MMO being able to run alongside the other titles it already operates. It has not stated whether RS4 will alter the course of RuneScape, yet it has made plain that the new game is intended to exist side by side with the current lineup, rather than supplant them.
This week, a copy of Old School RuneScape turned up online, drew the anger of the RuneScape community, and was swiftly removed from service. The announcement arrives amid continued engagement from the franchise’s audience.
The studio has yet to give RS4 an official name, and Jagex has said it is at least a few years away from release. Development remains in its early stages.
- RS4 is set in Gielinor’s Sixth Age
- It begins in Ashenfall, a region first introduced in Dragonwilds
- The game picks up years after the defeat of Kuldra
- The animated adaptation is being developed with Charlie White and Lyrical Media
- Jagex says the ambition is to make the RuneScape universe bigger
There are currently two reasons for fans to watch closely. One reason is a fresh MMO built on a new engine. The other reason is an animated adaptation that might at last bring the tales of Gielinor to the screen.
See the video the story is built around at Eurogamer.
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