Old School RuneScape is celebrating enormous success this year, and the developers at Jagex are reflecting on the unusual origin story of the MMORPG revival.
How successful is Old School RuneScape? The revival of the old RuneScape from 2007 has been around since 2013 and has taken a different path than the modern original. The plan is working. While other MMORPGs struggle with declining player numbers and find it hard to attract new players to their servers, Jagex is celebrating one success after another:
- The MMORPG can repeatedly achieve new milestones for its active player count – in April 2026, for example, there were an impressive 250,000 players online at the same time on the servers.
- About 50 percent of the currently active community of Old School RuneScape are said to have joined the RuneScape franchise only in the past 5 years.
During an interview with PC Gamer, Creative Director Kieren Charles revealed that they are currently very satisfied with the paying part of the community: About one million active subscribers are said to be currently playing Old School RuneScape. An impressive number, especially considering the age of RuneScape.
The MMORPG from the Drawer
A find from a drawer changes the future: Similar to WoW Classic, it was also the many fans of the classic experience who repeatedly wished for a revival of the MMORPG from 2001. A large part of the community hoped for the version from 2006 as a foundation.
According to Danni Amos (Senior Communications Manager at Jagex), there was a problem: “We didn’t have a copy of that version of the game.” At some point, an employee of the studio found the RuneScape server from 2007 in a desk drawer. When the team started it, it was unclear whether it would even work.
They were lucky … and found a basis for Old School RuneScape. Without this find, the successful revival probably would not exist in its current form.
What makes Old School RuneScape special? The revival of RuneScape is an old-school sandbox MMORPG experience, significantly shaped by the community. The developers present all planned innovations to the players for a vote. Only if a feature or content achieves a minimum approval of 70 percent does it go live.
Have you tried Old School RuneScape or is there something that puts you off? Feel free to let us know in the comments! According to Jagex CEO Jon Bellamy, there are also other factors for success, and one still needs a hefty dose of luck on top of all that. What he means by that, you can find out here: All MMOs are fighting for new players, a 13-year-old classic apparently found the cheat code for it
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