On the 25th anniversary of RuneScape, the developers announced their plans for the anniversary year, promising content, events, and investments.
What kind of anniversary is it? In 2026, the RuneScape franchise will turn 25 years old and wants to celebrate this anniversary in style. That’s why the developers, under the new leadership of Jon Bellamy, announced a year full of content, events, and changes that will affect all RuneScape games.
Bellamy has been the head of Jagex since March 2025 and is thus also the head of the RuneScape franchise. He has repeatedly expressed his desire to push the genre forward and to bring long-awaited changes. This includes the largest update in years.
To this end, the developers have declared the event “RS25,” under which many important and significant events are set to occur in the world of RuneScape this year. It’s not just about the games, but the entire franchise is expected to receive a boost this year.
Game Updates
What’s new in RuneScape? The regular RuneScape is set to enter a new chapter this year. The developers are focusing on a “comprehensive renewal based on integrity, visual refreshment, and a new focus on the uniqueness of the game”.
While the exact details of the update are set to be revealed on January 19 during the “RS Ahead” livestream, the developers have already revealed that there will be several long-awaited changes.
There are expected to be updates to player avatars, a graphic update, and substantial improvements to player support. In this context, the developers will also, as previously announced, remove the microtransaction system “Treasure Hunter” from the game. This change was achieved by the players through a survey.
What’s happening with Old School RuneScape? The developers plan to soon present a packed roadmap for Old School RuneScape that will bring a lot of new content into the game in 2026. It will include a new raid, a new Grandmaster quest, and a new league with many quality-of-life improvements.
The developers will reveal the exact roadmap at the “The Old School RuneScape Winter Summit” on January 25.
What about RuneScape: Dragonwilds? The latest member of the RuneScape family impressed with its co-op survival mode in 2025. According to the developers, 1 million units were sold in the 8 months since its launch.
In 2026, Dragonwilds is set to receive 3 significant expansions that will push early access in the game further and expand the game world with new quests, dungeons, and fearsome dragons. More information will be provided at the “The RuneScape: Dragonwilds Summit” on January 29.
Events and Merchandise
How else will the year be celebrated? 25 years of RuneScape must be celebrated. Therefore, the developers are hosting 2 major events for fans. RuneFest 2026 will take place on October 3 and 4 in Birmingham, offering space for up to 6,000 fans.
Fans can meet the developers, listen to talks, and meet RuneScape creators. A similar event is also planned for the USA. A “Deadman All-Stars” event is set to take place at the “Rosemont Theatre” in Chicago on June 20, 2026. This is the first Jagex event in the USA and promises an exciting competition as its main attraction.
Is there any merchandise? Yes, the developers want to release new merchandise to celebrate the anniversary. Instead of t-shirts and hoodies, there will this time be a building block set that allows fans to build their own “Lumbridge Castle.”
Additionally, the developers are offering the music from RuneScape and Old School RuneScape in a set for sale.
New Investments
What is the company behind RuneScape planning? Jagex announced in a press release, which MeinMMO has, that it intends to make the largest investments ever in the RuneScape brand in 2026 to lead the MMORPG to greater glory and a better experience.
Thus, the developers are reorganizing and improving player support. They also want to take new approaches to nurturing new talent. A partnership was established to support talent from low-income households by Jagex in their careers in the gaming sector.
With RS25, the developers of RuneScape have great plans for 2026. Even though they will only announce the details of the updates for their games in the livestreams, the direction seems clear: forward. The ideas are likely also backed by the new head of the company, Jon Bellamy, who announced last year that he wanted to lead RuneScape to be the second-largest MMORPG franchise: The new head of a popular MMORPG wants to give up money, stating: This can save the future
