The MMORPG Runescape has been experiencing a resurgence for years. The studio behind it, Jagex, is reporting record numbers. However, the British studio is now up for sale. This is likely due to the video game crisis in China.
This is the situation: The company behind RuneScape is the British development studio Jagex. They are based in Cambridge, England, and have about 320 employees (as of 2016).
They have been developing the MMORPG Runescape in various forms since 2001, for 18 years now.
However, in 2016 Jagex was sold: Shangdong Hongda acquired the British studio for 300 million US dollars. This is a Chinese company that mainly earns its money through minerals and mining these materials.
The Chinese then founded a subsidiary, Shanghai Fukong Interactive Entertainment, and entrusted this company with the gaming side of the business.
But the business development went completely differently:
- In recent years, Runescape experienced a renaissance and upswing. Jagex announced record numbers in 2018 and is even developing a new MMO.
- However, things do not look so good for Shanghai Fukong. Their stock has lost significant value. The company appears to be in crisis. This could be due to the major difficulties in the Chinese video game market in recent times.
This has now happened: As Reuters reports, Shaghai Fukong now wants to sell part or all of its shares in Jagex.
After Nexon, the next MMO company is on the market.
Why is RuneScape doing so well? Jagex explains that they had temporarily shifted the focus from Runescape to develop new games, which did not succeed. But for some time now, they have refocused on Runescape.
RuneScape is a “phenomenally accessible game” and is experiencing a “true renaissance,” said the CEO of Jagex in May 2018 to the US site MassivelyOP. They had reached the highest concurrent player numbers in 8 years. Subscription numbers are also at a record high, and they have grown for 4 consecutive years, it was said in 2018.
He said players are crazy about MMOs, but that is not talked about as much as it used to be. This aligns with a general trend noted by major MMORPGs like ESO.
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