Old School RuneScape

Did You Know?

• Deadman Mode tournaments have included a $10,000 prize and drawn about 90,000 Twitch viewers.
• The first Leagues mode, Twisted League, began on 14 November 2019 and lasted two months.
• In 2025, Jagex ran Grid Master, a shorter temporary event inspired by Clan Bingo and Leagues, from 15 October to 12 November.

Development and release

In February 2013, Jagex CEO Mark Gerhard announced a poll on creating a version of RuneScape based on an August 2007 backup. The poll received 449,351 votes, meeting the threshold to launch the project but falling short of the 500,000-vote reward tier. Jagex incorporated several proposed incentives, including player voting on new content and improved bot protection. The game was released on 22 February 2013 for Windows and OS X, initially requiring membership; limited free-to-play access was added in February 2015. Updates are polled in-game and implemented if they meet a player-approval threshold, lowered from 75 percent to 70 percent in 2022. Major additions include God Wars Dungeon, Fossil Island, Great Kourend, raids, clan support tools, Varlamore and Sailing. Varlamore was released in three parts between March 2024 and July 2025. Sailing, released in November 2025, was the first new skill. A mobile cross-play port was released for Android and iOS on 30 October 2018, exceeding one million installs in under two weeks. The game was released on Steam on 24 February 2021. In September 2021, Jagex blocked the 117Scape HD Plugin, a third-party mod, shortly before its planned launch, leading to player protests; Jagex later reached an agreement allowing the mod to be released.

Reception

Metacritic characterised the iOS version's reviews as generally positive. PC Gamer gave the game a score of 77 out of 100, calling it a massive but compelling time sink. Coverage has emphasised its nostalgia and continuing development; PC World called it a nostalgic experience. Rock Paper Shotgun noted the company's enthusiasm for the game's future. The game was nominated for Heritage and Best Role-Playing Game awards at The Independent Game Developers' Association Awards in 2018 and 2019. It won EE Mobile Game of the Year at the 15th British Academy Games Awards and Best Mobile Game at the Develop:Star Awards. It reached one million users in October 2013. In August 2025, it broke its concurrent-player record with more than 240,000 players online; GameSpot reported a peak of 241,016 concurrent players on 3 August 2025.

Controversies

In 2019, players pushed back against proposed promotional partnerships for Old School RuneScape, worrying they might bring microtransactions or pay-to-win elements. Jagex cut the related polls short, reported that the results were heavily against the idea, and promised not to introduce microtransactions. While the game’s rules forbid buying or selling in-game items, gold, or services for real money, some players still farm gold to sell on outside sites. Polygon, Slate, and The Economist covered Venezuelan players relying on gold farming for income during their country’s economic troubles. Polygon noted mixed reactions from the community, with some sympathizing with players in tough situations and others worrying about harm to the game’s economy and community, and reported that Venezuelan and Spanish-speaking players had been harassed due to perceived involvement in gold farming. In June 2017, Jagex added an LGBT pride-themed event where players collected rainbow pieces for a scarf, which some players criticized as political or out of place in a fantasy setting. Jagex said the event aimed to support LGBT players and wasn’t a political statement. Pride content returned in later years, but in 2025 Jagex didn’t release new official Pride content for either RuneScape or Old School RuneScape, drawing criticism from employees and players. A Jagex spokesperson stated that existing Pride content would stay available and that the company backed community-organized Pride marches.