Few MMORPGs have lasted as long or even longer than the iconic world of warcraftand one of those active MMOs before him is runescapethat recently celebrated its 25th anniversary.
What started as a humble little game to play with friends online became a massive franchise, spawning three games (Old School RuneScape, RuneScape, RuneScape: Dragonwilds) with over 250,000 concurrent players for the original Old School RuneScape alone.
However, it has always been seen as the second highest rated MMORPG compared to the behemoth it is. world of warcraft. However, Jon Bellamy, CEO of RuneScape studio Jagex: The RuneScape Company, recently stated in an interview with YouTube channel The Game Business that he plans to change that.
Jon Bellamy proclaims that, and I quote, “The dream is that we are not the second largest MMO brand in the world, we are number one. There is a big gap between us and number one, but if we do it right, we know we can move forward.”
He continues, “It’s lofty and ambitious, but if you’re going to set lofty, ambitious goals, why not reach the top? So that’s goal number one.”
Jagex is already working to achieve Jon Bellamy’s lofty ambitions by removing RuneScape’s unpopular microtransactions, such as the Treasure Hunter perk, while also improving its gameplay systems to eliminate “a lot of the clumsiness and pain within the game,” according to Jon.
Besides, Jagex plans to launch RuneScape survival spin-off, RuneScape: Dragonwilds, on Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5and will reveal big news updates for the RuneScape franchise as a whole on October 3, 2026 at RuneFest in hopes of winning back fans who abandoned the game long ago while attracting new fans.
Windows Central’s opinion
Declaring that you want to be the number one MMO in the world is not an easy task, since many renowned titles from Final Fantasy XIV to star wars: The Old Republic has tried, unsuccessfully, to overthrow the titan that is World of Warcraft.
In fact, the only time an MMO has managed to get ahead of World of Warcraft is when the game and Blizzard Entertainment trip over their own feet. Like when World of Warcraft: Shadowlands came out in 2021, which was so criticized by critics and fans which (along with a controversial lawsuit filed against Blizzard at the time) caused players to embark on a mass exodus to Final Fantasy XIV before they returned for World of Warcraft: Dragonflight.
So RuneScape has a lot of work to do if it hopes to take the World of Warcraft crown. However, considering that the current World of Warcraft: Midnight expansion has been criticized by fans for having one of the The most rushed and buggy launches in the history of the game.while angering fans by their absurd monetization practicesRuneScape may not have to do THAT much to win over fans, especially if it plans to buck the FOMO trends of microtransactions and live services.
But on the other hand, Blizzard Entertainment has the opportunity to turn things around quickly if it takes time polishing its content releases and announces something really interesting for World of Warcraft at BlizzCon 2026, thus putting a damper on RuneScape’s plans.
Either way, we’ll have to wait and see who will become the king of MMORPGs in the coming months.
But what do you think? Do you think RuneScape’s plans to expand its franchise will help it overtake World of Warcraft, or will Blizzard’s iconic MMORPG maintain its position as the most popular and successful game in the genre?
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