Update: 16th January
We want to address the recent survey and the discussions surrounding it. We’ve seen your feedback, concerns, and criticisms, and we want to provide clarity on its purpose and some of the information contained within. We greatly value the trust and passion you place in RuneScape, and it’s important to us to maintain transparency about what’s happening.
Why the Survey Exists
The purpose of this survey is to gather feedback from the community. It is not a list of planned changes - it’s a research tool designed to help us understand what you, the players, value most in your membership. This survey is part of a long, multi-step process where players have been involved from the very beginning. We’ve already conducted focus groups, earlier surveys, and other research initiatives to ensure we are capturing diverse perspectives. By including a wide range of options (some of which may appear unusual or even contradictory), the survey helps us identify the specific elements that matter most to you and refine any future ideas with your feedback at the centre.
One of the reasons we include controversial or polarising topics in surveys is because they provide valuable insights into what players truly like, dislike, and feel strongly about. Great community management isn’t just about listening to what players want; it’s also about being open to exploring uncomfortable topics so that we can make informed, player-driven decisions. Surveys like this allow us to gather feedback on ideas before they even come close to becoming reality. They act as an important safeguard, ensuring that anything unpopular or misaligned with the community’s values is identified early.
This approach reflects our commitment to transparency and collaboration. We believe that asking hard questions - while sometimes difficult - helps us stay aligned with your expectations and build a stronger, more resilient relationship with the community. When we include a wide range of options in these surveys, it ensures we’re not just guessing or relying on assumptions about what’s important to you.
Your participation and honest feedback play a key role in shaping the future of RuneScape. By being willing to engage with controversial topics, we gain a clearer understanding of the priorities, values, and preferences that matter to you. This ensures that when changes or new offerings are considered, they are well-informed, respectful of the community, and designed to enhance the game you love.
Gameplay Fairness/Availability of In-Game Content
We want to be absolutely clear: any potential changes to membership options will not impact gameplay fairness or the availability of in-game content. Core game features, access to content, and the balanced experience you’ve come to expect will remain unchanged for all players.
The areas being explored in the survey focus on services outside of gameplay, such as account-related features or optional benefits. These are designed to enhance flexibility and provide more tailored options without altering the fundamental experience of playing RuneScape.
Our commitment to maintaining fairness and ensuring that every player, regardless of membership level, enjoys the same access to content remains unwavering.
Survey Methodology
The options presented in the survey are generated using a method called conjoint analysis, where combinations of features and prices are shown randomly. This is designed to test what players value most and least, and naturally, some options won’t make sense or appeal to everyone.
Just because an option appears in the survey does not mean we are planning to implement it. Similarly, the price associated with that set of features is not representative – these are purposefully generated at random as part of the conjoint analysis.
Tiered Membership Systems
We want to clarify how any potential tiered membership system would work. Today’s membership model, which provides uninterrupted access to the game, serves as our foundation.
We are exploring the concept of additional options - such as cheaper memberships or expanded packages offering “more for more.” These ideas are intended to complement the current base membership and provide greater choice for players with varying preferences.
As part of this exploration, we’re evaluating how players value access to both RuneScape and Old School RuneScape. We understand that, even if you primarily play one game having access to both may hold value. We’re carefully considering how this feedback fits into any potential changes.
In-Game Advertising
There are no plans to include ads in the base membership or to make ad-supported options a significant part of the game. We understand your concerns, and we are reviewing this feedback closely.
Paid Player Support
We’ve heard loud and clear that robust customer support is a baseline expectation. Your feedback makes it clear that this should remain a standard part of membership, and we’re taking that into account.
Reduced AFK Timers
Suggestions like shorter AFK timers have been widely criticised. These ideas were included to understand player preferences and were not intended to be concrete plans.
Next Steps
- Your Feedback Matters: We’re already reviewing your input to ensure that unpopular ideas are ruled out. This survey is about learning, not making decisions in a vacuum.
- No Final Decisions Have Been Made: This research is a starting point for discussion, not an announcement of changes.
- We’re Listening: We’ll continue to keep you informed and address concerns as they arise.
We deeply appreciate the passion and dedication of the RS community. Your trust is incredibly important to us, and we are committed to ensuring that any future changes align with the spirit of the game you love.
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. It may not always be easy, but these conversations are invaluable in helping us make decisions that benefit the long-term health of RuneScape. We’ll keep you updated as we move forward.
Hey 'Scapers
To better understand what matters most to you, we’re conducting a conjoint survey - a research method designed to explore how players value different membership features and combinations.
This survey email will be sent to players at random via email from SKIM, our trusted research partner. Note: this email will include your RSN and a unique link. If this is not included, feel free to ignore it.
If you receive this survey, you’ll be presented with randomised sets of options. It’s important to note that this is not a single proposal or finalised plan. Instead, the study tests many different combinations of features to help us understand what our players value. The features you see are part of this randomised experimental test, meaning they’re not final, and what’s shown will vary for each player. Additionally, just because a feature is included in the survey doesn’t mean it will necessarily be implemented in the future.
Your input will help us identify the elements that are most important to our community as we work to build an even better membership experience. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and being a part of this journey!
Staying Safe Online
We’re giving you a heads-up now so that you know what to expect and can recognise legitimate communications from us. If you receive an email survey from us, be sure it’s authentic to avoid phishing attempts.
- Check the subject line and/or email body for your RSN. If your accounts are secure, it’s quite hard for scammers to know both your email and RSN. We know both and will use both.
- Look for grammar and spelling errors. Whilst some mistakes can be human error, an email with consistently bad grammar and spelling errors throughout is a common giveaway for a phishing email.
- Scammers often use header spoofing to make emails appear as if they’re coming from our runescape.com domain. To check authenticity, you can view the email header, which contains key technical details about the sender’s origin. The way to do this differs for each email client (we recommend Googling how to do it for your client), but most clients let you access this by clicking “more info” or a similar option in the email menu where you’ll find the header information. Check for mismatching reply fields, suspicious rerouted received fields, failed authentications and any other data that looks like it doesn’t come from RuneScape/Jagex to identify potential phishing attempts.
- Double check links before you click on them to make sure the destination seems safe. On a computer, hover your mouse over the link and the destination address will appear in a small bar at the bottom of the browser. On a mobile, hold down the link, and a pop-up will appear containing the link. If you click a link and you’re asked to enter your password and you’re not sure if the email is safe, do not enter your information. Navigate to the website yourself and log in via your standard method instead. We will NEVER ask for your password when completing a survey sent by us.
- Finally, if you’re not sure, ask!
Please note that phishing is highly complex and these methods are purely safeguards and best practices and not foolproof. Please always use due diligence and caution, and always handle your login and personal data with care. More information can be found here.