Jagex is building a new RuneScape and relaunching the old one December 2

At RuneFest in Birmingham on October 3, Jagex showed two projects. The first is a new MMORPG with the working title RS4, which the studio says is still a few years away. The second is much closer: on December 2 the current RuneScape gets Reignited, a character type with its own economy where progress can't be bought.

What we know about RS4

Jagex admits there is little to tell yet. The game is being built in Unreal Engine and is set in Gielinor during the Sixth Age. It starts in Ashenfall, the north-eastern landmass, years after the events of the survival game Dragonwilds and the death of the Dragon Queen Kuldra. The studio plans to grow the map into familiar lands over time.

Platforms, membership, combat and a date are all unannounced, with more promised in 2027. For now the project page only takes an email address. According to MMORPG.com, as cited by PC Gamer, RS4 grew out of a Dragonwilds expansion that had been aimed at 2027.

RS4 won't replace the existing games: RuneScape, Old School RuneScape and Dragonwilds keep their own teams.

The number is loose too. RuneScape 2 arrived in 2004 and RuneScape 3 in 2013, after which Jagex dropped the numbering.

How Reignited works

Reignited characters live in the same worlds as veterans and also get a few worlds of their own. They can't trade with veterans, they have their own Grand Exchange, and boss instances are split. Clans stay shared.

• Launch: December 2, in one update with the Adventure Guide and a remaster of the early game
• Membership: Reignited needs its own, but members' worlds are free from December 2 to 12
• Store: no Radiant stars for these characters, cosmetics stay
• No switching: an existing character can't change type
• Gold swapping between the two economies is banned

For players who like a race, the Hall of Legends gives a statue to whoever gets a world-first achievement. Jagex says there are no plans to merge the economies for now.

The remaster covers the path from Tutorial Island to Seers Village, Camelot and Elvarg's lair, which is where both new players and Reignited characters will begin. In January 2027 the first of three story arcs starts, with the Dragon Slayer II quest and an Agility skill rework.

RuneScape is free to play on Steam in English, French, German and Brazilian Portuguese. The game turns 25 this year: our catalog lists its release as January 4, 2001. Update dates are on the RuneScape page.