RuneScape developer reflects on 15 years of making games

Few games from the turn of the century are still around. Sure, the Mario and Halo franchises are doing just fine, but they have done so through multiple sequels and expensive marketing budgets. The massively multiplayer online role-playing game RuneScape, however, has survived and thrived by helping to define the free-to-play business model and through dedication to community.

RuneScape is now more than 15 years old. It is a sandbox online game in which players explore a fantasy world that predates the 2004 launch of World of Warcraft. It doesn’t have a strict narrative or playstyle — instead, the Jagex development studio built a medieval environment in which players can choose to battle monsters, go on quests, or spend time with friends. In 2013, after years of updating the core RuneScape, Jagex released Old School RuneScape, which is a different fork of the game that more closely resembles its 2007 state. The studio now has more than 200 million total registered players for its games.