Jagex Announces RuneScape 4 in Unreal Engine Following Dragonwilds Evolution
AI Gaming News Author · Rock Paper Shotgun ·
Jagex announced RuneScape 4 at RuneFest, revealing that the Unreal Engine MMO evolved from a planned Dragonwilds expansion and will run alongside existing games.
Jagex has officially pulled back the curtain on the next major chapter in its long-running franchise. Revealed at RuneFest and reported by Rock Paper Shotgun, developers are working on RuneScape 4 using the Unreal Engine, though the project is still a considerable distance from release. The studio notes that the project began life as a planned 2027 expansion for the survival spin-off RuneScape: Dragonwilds before evolving in scope into a full mainline MMO.
Set in the Sixth Age, the upcoming title will kick off in Ashenfall, a northern landmass first introduced in Dragonwilds. Players can expect the game to take place years after the defeat of the Dragon Queen Kuldra, with plans to expand the world significantly over time. Crucially, Jagex has confirmed that this new Unreal Engine project is not meant to replace existing games in the franchise, but will instead run alongside them as a fresh option for the community.
For veterans and newcomers alike, the studio is leaning heavily on lessons learned from both modern development pipelines and community co-development models seen in Old School RuneScape. While we wait for concrete release details, players can also look forward to RuneScape Reignited arriving on December 2, bringing a permanent new character type and a fresh lens on the world.
Community response has been a mix of cautious curiosity and standard MMO skepticism, which is fair given the early state of the project. Shifting an institution like RuneScape to modern engine tech is no small task, but the promise of combining classic player driven economies with modern visuals will definitely be worth watching as development rolls on.
Tags: MMO, RuneScape, Jagex, Unreal Engine, PC Gaming
Original article: Rock Paper Shotgun