Usually, RuneScape is known for allowing the community to have a say in major adjustments or innovations. However, the recently announced price increase for the 23-year-old MMORPG has caught many fans off guard.
What has developer Jagex announced? Some time ago, the operators of RuneScape asked players via a survey if they would be willing to pay more for the subscription if it meant reducing the in-game microtransactions.
Apparently, a sufficiently large part of the community answered this question positively. Because now the responsible parties at Jagex have announced the largest price increase in the 23-year history of the MMORPG classic.
RuneScape and Old School RuneScape are also available on Steam:
The RuneScape Developers Show Courage
What do the new prices look like? On the official website of the MMORPG (via runescape.com), the developers present the new pricing model for RuneScape. Starting from September 27, 2024, the monthly subscription is set to cost new 12.49 Euros instead of 10.99 Euros. For US prices, the fee will even grow from 10.99 US dollars to 13.99 US dollars – an increase of almost 30 percent.
Alternatively, you can now also get a 6-month subscription for 62.94 Euros or a 12-month subscription for 89.88 Euros. In the developers’ announcement, you’ll also find a FAQ that explains the specifics for existing subscribers.
What is the problem? If many players supported the price increase in the survey, everything should be fine, right? Well, the deal described in the survey also included the developers agreeing to reduce the microtransactions in exchange.
So far, however, the developers have remained silent on whether, when, and in what form the microtransactions in RuneScape will be scaled back. Fun fact: RuneScape originally wanted to position itself as the affordable alternative to WoW with a subscription of about 5 dollars. With the new prices, both MMORPGs now operate almost on an equal footing.
RuneScape is just one of several online role-playing games that paved the way for World of Warcraft in the late 1990s and early 2000s but are still online. Which eleven genre representatives also belong in this category is revealed in the following special: 12 MMORPGs that paved the way for WoW and are still playable
