UK developer Jagex unveiled an in-development RuneScape MMORPG under the working title RS4 during RuneFest in Birmingham on October 3, 2026. The new project brings the world of Gielinor into Unreal Engine for a new generation of players, arriving in the franchise’s 25th year. While the release is still a few years away, Jagex said it plans to build the game with player feedback [1].
Jagex Unveils RS4 as a New RuneScape MMO
More than 6,000 fans gathered at the NEC in Birmingham for what Jagex called its biggest fan gathering yet. The opening ceremony began with the Manchester Video Game Orchestra performing classic game themes on stage with community figure Mod Ash. Soon after the music finished, the studio showed a short teaser trailer that confirmed RS4 is now in early development [2].
The project serves as Jagex’s fourth generation of RuneScape, following the original 2001 release and the major overhauls known earlier as RuneScape 2 in 2004 and RuneScape 3 in 2013. The studio made clear that RS4 isn’t the final name for the game, but it works while early design moves forward. Jagex says it has recorded over 300 million player accounts created during the past twenty-five years [3].
Announcing the project years ahead of release is a deliberate choice by the studio to bring players into early testing. In a message shared on the official blog, Jagex explained that it wants to share ideas and listen to community input as systems take shape. The studio said the game is still early in production, so players can’t expect release dates, pricing details, or platform confirmations anytime soon [1].
Setting the Adventure in Ashenfall and Unreal Engine
The story of RS4 takes place in Ashenfall, a northern landmass in Gielinor that players first explored in the survival spin-off RuneScape: Dragonwilds. The timeline sits in the Sixth Age, set years after the defeat of the Dragon Queen Kuldra, where the land has shifted following those events. Over time, Jagex plans to grow the world beyond Ashenfall into both familiar kingdoms and fresh regions [1].
The new MMO didn’t start out as a separate release, according to executive producer Jesse America, who explained that the project began as a planned expansion for Dragonwilds before its scope grew. As the developers built prototypes and assessed early systems, they realized the concept worked better as a standalone game powered by Unreal Engine, combining new visual rendering with the sandbox freedom that defined the series. Jagex hasn’t stated which version of the engine the team uses, but the technology lets the developers build larger environments than the proprietary tools from older games [6].
Combat mechanics remain an open question among players who watched the teaser. Commentators like Wccftech pointed out that the team could choose direct action combat similar to upcoming titles like Guild Wars 3 by ArenaNet, or stay with the familiar tab-targeting setup that players know from earlier releases. Jagex said it will reveal more about combat systems, skills, and gameplay mechanics next year as testing expands [2].
How the RuneScape MMORPG Coexists with Older Games
A central point in Jagex’s announcement is that the RuneScape MMORPG won’t replace any of the studio’s existing titles. Both the main live game, Old School RuneScape, and Dragonwilds will keep their own separate development teams, regular updates, and long-term funding, so that existing communities continue to receive new content. Jagex said its goal isn’t to push players away from games they love, but to make the fantasy universe bigger [1].
“We’ll be designing RS4 to sit alongside them as an additional way to experience RuneScape and the world of Gielinor,” Jagex wrote in its official reveal note. The studio added that players might choose to focus on one game, divide their time between several, or discover Gielinor for the first time through the new title. The company also promised that core design principles like permanent account progression and fair gameplay will guide the new project [7].
Supporting several versions of an online world at the same time is a path other long-running fantasy franchises have taken as their player communities grow older. In a comparable shift across the genre, The Elder Scrolls Online shifted to seasonal overhauls to reorganize its systems for veteran and returning adventurers who wanted updated progression paths without losing their accounts. Jagex hopes a multi-game approach lets players pick the style of play that matches their habits best [3].
Player Reactions to Fresh Starts and New Worlds
Despite the excitement surrounding the teaser, the reveal timing created mixed feelings among long-time fans at RuneFest. Just thirty minutes before revealing RS4, Jagex introduced RuneScape Reignited, a fresh-start version of the main game that asks players to begin anew in Lumbridge on December 2 with a new economy and fresh hiscores. For players who spent twenty years building skills and collecting rare pets, the thought of starting from scratch felt difficult [5].
Reactions highlighted in reports by DualShockers showed players worrying that multiple concurrent projects might divide the community. While some fans welcomed the idea of a new RuneScape MMORPG as a step forward for an aging engine, others questioned how a playerbase with limited free time can balance several versions of the same fantasy world. Some fans expressed concern that Reignited and RS4 arriving in the same news cycle made the future of RuneScape 3 feel uncertain [5].
Yet the studio’s detailed production plans suggest the existing games aren’t slowing down. Jagex pointed to packed schedules for both Old School and the main game, arguing that new options won’t drain resources from live servers. Whether the community embraces two fresh starting points in Gielinor will depend on how each team delivers its promised updates in the coming months [5].
Roadmaps for Gielinor and an Animated Adaptation
The main version of RuneScape enters a busy period when Reignited launches on December 2, granting non-members free access until December 12 with a fresh economy and no Treasure Hunter microtransactions. A player-requested Plugin API arrives in October, followed by three major narrative arcs in 2027: Hoard of Dragons in January as a sequel to Dragon Slayer, City of Gnomes continuing a storyline started in 2002, and Secrets of Karamja introducing a new endgame raid [2].
Meanwhile, Old School RuneScape receives the ancient vault raid The Fractured Archive on October 20 with a streamlined Boss Rush, followed by Hardcore Worlds on November 4. Long-time players will finally see the golden gates of Menaphos open in 2027 after twenty years of waiting, bringing the master-level quest Fool’s Gold, a Skilling Dungeon, and the Soul Altar inside the Pharaoh’s Pyramid Jalanam [4].
Jagex also revealed plans for an animated show set in Gielinor, teaming with video creator Charlie White (MoistCr1TiKaL) and the studio Lyrical Media. Combined with a December update for Dragonwilds titled Luminance and official CurseForge modding tools planned for 2027, Jagex is building a wider media footprint as the new RuneScape MMORPG begins its multi-year journey into production [2].
- ONLINE NEWS Serin, K. (2026, October 4). Jagex announces a fourth Runescape MMO made in Unreal Engine, but “RS4 is not a replacement for any of our games”. GamesRadar+. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS Palumbo, A. (2026, October 3). Jagex shocks RuneFest fans with the reveal of a new Unreal Engine-powered RuneScape MMO, plus an animated series with MoistCr1TiKaL. Wccftech. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS Yin-Poole, W. (2026, October 3). Fourth RuneScape MMO built with Unreal Engine in the works, Jagex announces RuneScape animation with MoistCr1TiKaL. IGN. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS Miyai, J. (2026, October 3). RuneFest reveals massive 2027 roadmaps for Old School, RuneScape, Dragonwilds and a new MMO. RPG Site. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS Güster, L. (2026, October 3). Jagex announced RuneScape 4 half an hour after asking players to start over. DualShockers. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS GR Staff. (2026, October 4). RuneScape 4 takes shape as Jagex’s first Unreal MMO. Gamereactor. [Article Link]
- ONLINE NEWS Husameddin, G. (2026, October 4). “RuneScape 4” announced, built in Unreal Engine. PlayDayOne. [Article Link]
