Last week, Jagex announced that RuneScape will be the very first established mainstream cross-platform MMO in the Western world. However, the developers of Villagers and Heroes see it differently.
Jagex is currently working on a mobile version of the venerable MMORPG RuneScape. The developers state that RuneScape will thus be the very first major cross-platform MMO in the Western world. The mobile version will launch in 2018. However, Mad Otter Games has a say in this matter.
Is RuneScape really not the first cross-platform MMORPG?
The development studio explains that Jagex is completely mistaken. Because the MMORPG Villagers and Heroes is already playable on PC and Android devices, thus making it cross-platform capable. Mad Otter has to add to this by stating that Villagers and Heroes is not only the first but also the best cross-platform MMORPG in the world.
But there’s more…
Whether this is true is another question. Because there are several other online role-playing games that can be played on both PC and mobile devices. These include AdventureQuest 3D, Pixel Worlds, Pocket Legends, Nebula Online, and Arcane Legends. These titles are also cross-platform capable. And Albion Online also offers a mobile version that can be played on tablets.
The situation is not so clear-cut, neither for RuneScape nor for Villagers and Heroes.
A question of status
Gerd Schuhmann says: The joke here is that RuneScape claimed to be the first “major” Western MMORPG that offers cross-play. At least that is what was stated in the German press release we have. Implicit in that is: “What any second-rate MMOs have done before us is not worth mentioning.”
How one defines “major” is a tricky matter. RuneScape probably means something like “top-tier.” Other developers also want to play in the big leagues.
There are unspoken status differences among MMOs between the established MMORPGs of major publishers, the AAA products (WoW, ESO, GW2, FF14), and the games of smaller publishers, which appear much less frequently in the media. They do not want to miss such an opportunity.
More articles about RuneScape:
RuneScape will be the first Western mainstream MMORPG for Mobile (with crossplay)
